Under Utah law, flower leis must be allowed at high school graduations — but that doesn’t stop the venues hosting those ceremonies from charging districts fees to cover the cleanup of left-behind petals and leaves.

Those added costs have drawn attention this year at one venue in particular: The University of Utah’s Huntsman Center, which has long been a popular place for Salt Lake County schools to host their celebrations.

In its six-page guidance document for high school graduations, the U. has framed the fee, introduced last year, as optional. If a school district decides to allow students to wear leis, the U. says, then they have to pay it to cover the cleaning costs. If they don’t, then leis need to remain with family members “in the stands or concourse during the graduation and can be worn afterwards.”

“The choice to allow or not allow high school graduates to wear leis inside the Huntsman Center is a district-by-district decision,” the U. said in a statement.

But that leaves districts in a tough spot. They’re technically required to allow students to wear cultural regalia, including leis, under a state law passed in 2023. That then saddles districts with the extra cost.

This year, the Salt Lake City School District’s graduation contract with the U. included a $1,000 fee for lei cleanup, said district spokesperson Yándary Chatwin. That fee is charged once per day, though, not per high school or ceremony.

On Thursday, four of the district’s high schools all hosted their ceremonies at the Huntsman Center.

Some West High students said they were grateful the district opted to pay the cost.

“This is our way of celebration,” said Mamele Watanabe, who is Polynesian. “It’s a big part of our traditions and our culture, and I think that it’s our biggest way to show that we care and love for our family members.”

Aadhi Umamageswaran, who wore a purple lei Thursday, said she practices Hinduism and flowers are often used during worship and prayer.

“Flowers … are a way we show love to the gods that we worship and pray to,” Umamageswaran said, “but also to ourselves, whenever we are celebrating.”

She added that her mother went to “seven different stores” to find the perfect lei. She paired it with several science fair medals she’d won throughout the years and plans to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall.

Granite School District said it planned to pay a similar $1,000 lei fee for the three graduation ceremonies it’s holding at the U. on Friday.

The charge for leis prompted some backlash this year after a West High School employee had sent out a notice earlier this month to parents and students about ceremony rules.

Because of University of Utah rules, that email stated, there would be “NO celebrating allowed at the Huntsman Center,” including no confetti, balloons or banners and no tailgating outside. And only traditional flower leis — none with candy or other food — would be allowed with graduates sitting on the floor of the Huntsman Center.

“Failure to follow these guidelines could impact our ability to use this venue in the future,” the email read.

The district later clarified that the message was not fully accurate, noting that graduation itself is a celebration. The ban on tailgating and tables set up outside, though, is to keep the events for each school flowing during the day.

“With four graduations scheduled in one day at the Huntsman Center, some expectations are in place to help with safety and moving large crowds in and out between ceremonies,” the district’s response said.

The reason behind the lei fee — and other charges

Before the 2023 law, the U. had previously banned leis outright from high school graduations at the Huntsman Center.

When The Salt Lake Tribune reported on frustration over that in 2018, some parents said they felt the venue was being culturally insensitive.

At the time, the U. said the Huntsman Center hosts high school graduations as “more of a community service” than as a means of making money. It doesn’t usually turn a profit because of overhead and cleaning costs.

The Huntsman Center had also just spent $40,000 on new carpet to roll out over the basketball court — and worried about staining it. The U. said at the time it would cost $500 to clean it between ceremonies.

That same reason applies today, according to a statement from the U.

“It is difficult to keep the carpets clean due to the volume of students on the floor,” the U. said, citing a “tight turnaround” with “multiple graduations per day.”

“And when there are flower petals, leaves and candy that get stepped on and ground into the carpet it becomes even more difficult,” the U. continued.

Leis, however, are allowed at the University of Utah’s commencement and convocation ceremonies for its graduates. The U. absorbs its own costs for that.

At high school ceremonies, the university is also responsible for the ban on glitter, confetti and silly string.

If any of those are thrown or sprayed inside or outside the Huntsman Center, according to the U.’s rules, a school district is charged $250 per occurrence.

“There is no cap on these charges,” the U. added in its guidance document.

Salt Lake City School District repeated that in its messaging for graduates and their families.

Last year, the district paid roughly $43,000 in fees for glitter, confetti and silly string incidents, Chatwin said.

Overall, the district spent nearly $100,000 to host its 2025 graduations at the Huntsman Center, counting general operations costs, the glitter fees, the lei fee and other expenses.

Last year, Granite School District said it paid around $79,000 for its ceremonies.

‘A protected cultural expression’

This year, both the Pacific Island Knowledge 2 Action Resources (commonly referred to as PIK2AR) and Pacific Island Chamber of Commerce condemned the lei charge, saying that leis are “not random decorations.”

They are a cultural practice symbolic of love, gratitude, pride and accomplishment. Family members often make them by hand with flowers grown on the islands where they have ties.

“Our cultural practices are not for your personal punching bag,” the groups said in a combined statement.

Many organizations in the state fought for Utah to protect cultural expressions at high school graduations and celebrated that win.

In 2022, HB30 specifically required schools to allow Native tribal regalia, such as eagle feathers, at graduation ceremonies.

That was expanded to all cultural regalia in 2023 with SB103. That new law stated: “A student may wear recognized items of cultural or religious significance as an adornment at a graduation ceremony.”

Now, charging districts a fee in order for students to express their culture feels like a step back.

“Singling out leis, a protected cultural expression, is unfair and unlawful when comparable ceremonial items are permitted,” PIK2AR and the chamber of commerce said.

Both Granite and Salt Lake City school districts also have some of the largest percentages of students of color of schools in the state. Salt Lake City School District said it’s proud of that and proud to have students celebrate their heritage on graduation day.

“Cultural regalia, floral leis, and other expressions of cultural identity are not only welcome, they are protected by state law, and we are proud to uphold that,” the district says on its graduation instructions.

Salt Lake City School District officials said they’re happy to pay the extra lei costs.

“It’s a no-brainer,” Chatwin said.

Costs vary by district, venue

Other school districts in Salt Lake County say they can’t afford the U.’s costs.

Murray City School District, for instance, paid a flat $12,000 fee to Utah Valley University for its high school graduation ceremony there this year, the district said. While the U. is much closer for students and families — and the district has only one high school, Murray High — the Huntsman Center was out of their price range, said district spokesperson Doug Perry.

“We’ve tried to just find the best bang for our buck,” Perry said. “For us to go use some of the bigger venues, it doesn’t matter to them if we’re [a] one high school district.”

UVU doesn’t charge any additional cleaning or lei fees, Perry added.

In 2025, Murray held its ceremony at Salt Lake Community College, which charged a base fee of $15,000. Perry said. There were some additional costs, like parking, but Perry said he was unsure of the exact amount.

While Granite School District held three of its traditional high school graduations this year at the Huntsman Center, it held another five at the Maverik Center.

Other districts in Salt Lake County — Jordan and Canyons school districts — did not hold any graduations at the U. this year.