What is the legality of the school levying a fine, or withholding her diploma?
I’d be inclined to take this to court.
Well, yeah. Muslims, Amish, Jewish men in those caps, members of religious orders, I could keep going get to wear their stuff. What the heck is wrong with an eagle feather? Maybe it's an environment crazy thing. Surely they couldn't object to her being proud of her native American heritage.
I’d be inclined to take this to court.
From what I've been able to gather, this is a private school, and the prohibition of a graduating student's wearing unapproved apparel and/or accoutrements is spelled out in the school's handbook. Also specified there is the warning that one's diploma may be withheld until disciplinary action has been imposed.
Agreed. She fulfilled her “contract” of graduating, if there is such a contract. In any case, she earned the degree under other rules. The school should sue to get the $1,000 but I don’t think they can keep her degree.
You might win on the fine, but lose on withholding the diploma. Schools can withhold diplomas for a number of reasons, including disciplinary issues (such as this one), unpaid fees, etc. Whether she signed the “contract” or not is irrelevant. It is a contract in name only - more properly, it would be an acknowledgement by the student and parents of the rules of the graduation and the consequences of violation. By her attempting to get the school to approve her feather, she confirmed her knowledge of these conditions, so a lack of a signature is immaterial. Her decision to wear the feather anyway in violation of the rule makes her subject to the consequences.