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TOPSHAM, Maine (AP) — A Maine high school senior is opting out of his graduation ceremony after school officials told him he couldn't wear an Army sash over his gown.
Greg Woodworth, of Topsham, says he will have his own graduation ceremony Sunday at American Legion Post 202 instead.
Woodworth, 19, a senior at Mount Ararat High School, was told by school officials that he couldn't wear his Army sash because they want "unification around the school" at graduation, the Portland Press Herald reported (http://bit.ly/1XNHmLN .)
"Our graduation exercise is one that is quite traditional and has a somber tone to it," said Superintendent Brad Smith. "We want the focus to be on what was accomplished in K-12."
Woodworth is headed to Fort Benning in Georgia in July to train to become an infantryman. Woodworth said his parents agree with his decision not to participate in the high school graduation ceremony scheduled for Sunday.
Three years ago, the Augusta School Board changed its policy after initially forbidding a Cony High School graduate from wearing an Army National Guard sash.
Neighboring New Hampshire this year enacted a law that allows graduates to wear their uniforms if they've completed basic training.
The law, known as Brandon's Law, is named for Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon Garabani, who fought unsuccessfully to wear his uniform to his 2013 graduation from ConVal Regional High School. He was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan the following summer.
With the enactment of Brandon's Law in May, New Hampshire joined Pennsylvania and California, which enacted passed similar laws in the past seven years.
Woodworth said he wants to move beyond the controversy.
"I can't wait to put it all behind me," he said.
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