Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

2 days ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

2 days ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

2 days ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

2 days ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

3 days ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

3 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

3 days ago
ACLU Complaint Says Clovis Unified Fails to Quell 'Racially Hostile Environment'
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
September 3, 2020

Share

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California has filed a complaint with Clovis Unified School District on behalf of a Black student who says he has been racially profiled, disciplined differently than fellow classmates, and subjected to a “racially hostile environment.”

The ACLU, which has filed a previous complaint on behalf of a biracial student who alleged the district’s dress code was racist, is seeking training and professional development for district staff, including “effective methods for engaging Black students in the educational process;” recruitment of a Black student-focused liaison to work with parents and students at Clovis High School and the district’s other high schools; and revamping of disciplinary procedures to provide better guidance on how to accommodate students with disabilities.

The complaint, dated Tuesday, was directed to Clovis Unified Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell. The student, who is a minor, is not named.

Allegations Are ‘Deeply Concerning’

Clovis Unified spokeswoman Kelly Avants said the district is investigating the allegations in the complaint, which she said are “deeply concerning.”

“They are concerning because they don’t reflect our focused efforts, especially over the past three years, to build a system that promotes respect of students’ race and culture, trains employees in building culturally proficient classrooms, reinforces a zero tolerance stance on racism, and works to listen to and give voice to our community of color.”

The ACLU maintains, however, that the district has a long history of racial abuse and discrimination by failing to discipline racially-abusive students, allowing teachers to racially abuse students of color, and “has responded to reports of racial abuse with mealy-mouthed calls for diversity that have not addressed the serious issues in the district.”

Incidents Occurred Over Several Years

The new complaint details years of incidents starting when the student was an eighth grader at Clark Intermediate, when he was searched by a teacher at a book fair after he was unfairly targeted by a vendor. After patting him down and searching his pockets, the teacher came up empty-handed.

The student’s father was told that the school had ended its relationship with the vendor but there was no promise to investigate the teacher, who remained employed at the school.

That incident, and others that followed, eroded the student’s trust in his teachers and schools, alienated him, ruined his grades, and have affected his mental well-being, the ACLU complaint says.

His ninth grade English teacher read aloud the book “Of Mice and Men,” which included the N-word multiple times. The teacher said she read the word aloud to the class because she did not believe in censorship. The student said he felt isolated because he was the only Black student in the class.

He later reported that he felt frozen at hearing “the sudden repetition of the most hateful word in the English language” and even years later not forget the trauma he felt.

More Issues Arise

The complaint says the student felt overwhelmed and started to fall behind on his schoolwork. His family and school officials worked on a plan to accommodate his learning disability, which they said was violated by his 10th grade teacher when she failed to allow him sufficient time to complete makeup assignments.

That same teacher announced plans to read “To Kill a Mockingbird,” even though it also contains the N-word. When the student’s father objected, the teacher initially said she would substitute another book but then showed the movie “Hotel Rwanda” to the class — and the student was shocked when the N-word was shouted out by a character in the movie.

His deepening disillusionment led to him being caught with several other students with a THC vaping pen in a school bathroom. In a disciplinary hearing, the student’s father told school officials that he believed their failure to accommodate the student’s learning plan had contributed to his involvement in the bathroom incident, but school officials disagreed and suspended the student.

Of the three students involved with the vaping pen, the district suspended the Black student and an Asian-American student, but not the third student, who is white, the complaint said.



2020 09 01 CUSD UCP Complaint Redacted (Text)

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Arrest Wanted Man Following DUI Traffic Stop and Chase

DON'T MISS

Trump, EU’s Von Der Leyen to Meet on Sunday to Clinch Trade Deal

DON'T MISS

Israel Announces Daily Pauses in Gaza Fighting as Aid Airdrops Begin

DON'T MISS

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

DON'T MISS

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

DON'T MISS

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

DON'T MISS

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

DON'T MISS

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

DON'T MISS

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

UP NEXT

Video-Sharing App Vine Is Returning ‘in AI Form’, Musk Says

UP NEXT

CBS News Taps Tanya Simon as New Boss of ’60 Minutes’ After Trump Lawsuit

UP NEXT

Doctor Pleads Guilty to Supplying Ketamine to ‘Friends’ Star Matthew Perry

UP NEXT

US Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women From Women’s Competitions

UP NEXT

US Appeals Court Will Not Lift Limits on Associated Press Access to White House

UP NEXT

NPR’s Top Editor Edith Chapin to Step Down

UP NEXT

Less Than 400 EV Charging Ports Built Under $7.5 Billion US Infrastructure Program

UP NEXT

California Voters Say State Is Off Course. Housing Emerges as Top Concern

UP NEXT

Fresno County Authorities Seek Help Locating Missing Woman and Infant

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified’s Free Immunization Clinics for Students Start in August

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

1 day ago

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

1 day ago

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

1 day ago

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

1 day ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

1 day ago

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

1 day ago

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

1 day ago

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

1 day ago

Lemoore Farmers Fed Up With Lack of Representation on Groundwater Agency

1 day ago

‘Jenny from the Block’ Rescued After Camping Out by Calwa ATM

1 day ago

Visalia Police Arrest Wanted Man Following DUI Traffic Stop and Chase

A 20-year-old man was arrested early Saturday morning after leading officers on a pursuit into Tulare County, authorities said. Just after 1...

7 hours ago

Visalia police arrested a 20-year-old man with multiple felony warrants early Saturday after he fled a DUI traffic stop, leading officers on a pursuit into Tulare County that ended with spike strips and a CHP PIT maneuver. (Visalia PD)
7 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest Wanted Man Following DUI Traffic Stop and Chase

President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2020. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Trump, EU’s Von Der Leyen to Meet on Sunday to Clinch Trade Deal

Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. (Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas)
7 hours ago

Israel Announces Daily Pauses in Gaza Fighting as Aid Airdrops Begin

The entire board of Highlands Community Charter in Sacramento stepped down after a state audit found the school improperly received over $180 million and engaged in questionable spending. (Shutter
1 day ago

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 16, 2021. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron visit a ward for Palestinian patients at El Arish Hospital, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, in Arish, Egypt April 8, 2025. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
1 day ago

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

U.S. President Donald Trump golfs at Trump Turnberry resort in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 26, 2025. (Reuters/Phil Noble)
1 day ago

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

Noah Robinson, 38, was arrested after allegedly robbing a Visalia Long John Silver’s at knifepoint and attempting to flee through nearby backyards with $110 in stolen cash on Friday, July 25, 2025. (Visalia PD)
1 day ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend