Barring any last-minute about-faces by Clovis Unified officials, eight high school seniors won’t be joining their classmates at their graduation ceremonies, and their families are now “resigned” to that outcome, Fresno attorney Steven Smith said Tuesday afternoon.

Three of the students are graduating from Buchanan High, which holds its commencement ceremony in just a few hours, four are seniors at Clovis North, which celebrates commencement on Wednesday, and the eighth is a Clovis Online student. A ninth student opted not to continue with the appeal process, Smith said.

They were among 30 students who traveled in two vans earlier this month to the Clovis North prom, where school officials discovered open and unopened alcoholic beverages as well as “jungle juice” in each van.

All 30 are in violation of the “minors in possession” law, Smith said. Under the California law, which is a misdemeanor offense, people younger than 21 are prohibited from possessing, consuming, or being in public spaces with alcohol.

But only nine of them, when urged by the district to tell the truth about whether they had been drinking, admitted that they had. The others denied it and suffered no punishment, he said.

“Unequal treatment is the issue here,” he said.

Wrong Message?

The other issue, Smith said, is that the district’s handling of the incident sends the message to students that lying and denying will keep them out of trouble.

Clovis Unified officials clearly are showing favoritism and preferential treatment to students who are either well-connected or star athletes, Smith said. One of the students who was not punished is on the Clovis North softball team and has continued to play since the incident, he said. Another student who made alcohol “assignments” to the prom bus students on a SnapChat blackboard also has not been disciplined, he said.

The students who admitted drinking were suspended for five days for violating their schools’ code of conduct, which they signed as seniors. But when they appealed, the district then notified them that they would be prohibited from participating in their graduation ceremony, which Smith says looked like retaliation for filing their appeals.

After the School Board’s May 19 decision, the district claimed that the parents were notified, but Smith said that didn’t happen. Instead, he said, he got a phone call late Monday afternoon from the district’s attorney to inform him about the board’s decision.

Smith said he had already filed appeals with the Fresno County Board of Education but has not yet heard back.

“We’re just still waiting for a final decision as the clock is running out,” he said.

Clovis Unified did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Late Tuesday afternoon, spokeswoman Kelly Avants provided the following: “While having compassion for students who face uncomfortable consequences for their behavior choices, we also owe it to all of our students to be an organization that consistently keeps our word.

“We stand by our policies outlined in and committed to by students and parents in senior contracts, student handbooks and dance contracts. That information has been communicated consistently to the families involved, and since the May 21 Board Meeting those families have been contacted by their school to schedule alternative times to receive their diplomas outside of the formal graduation ceremony. It was also made clear to Mr. Smith, before May 21, that there was no formal avenue of appeal to the School Board in student discipline decisions of this nature. School Boards hear appeals of student expulsion recommendations, which this was not.

“The district also stands by its investigation into this incident. Consequences in student discipline investigations are based on evidence, what information was gathered through the investigation, and the specific infraction of each student. We disagree with any allegation to the contrary. During any investigation, if someone has information that they feel warrants different outcomes, we ask that they provide that information to a school official and/or the district so it can be added to the investigation. We have received no new information that warrants a different outcome in this situation.”

What’s Next?

The families have several options if their students are barred from walking at graduation. They include filing a civil suit, which would be expensive, and holding their own graduation ceremony. Smith said Trustee Steven Fogg has volunteered to hand out diplomas to the students at such a ceremony.

Walking at graduation is a milestone event for high schoolers, but in the long run it won’t have a big impact on the eight students, Smith said.

“My kids are resilient. Most of these kids are 4.0 kids,” he said. “Most of these kids have got college stuff and have business stuff, and they’re going to be moving on from this little speed bump in their road of life. A little blip on their radar. Because no employer down the road will ever ask, did you walk at graduation? Nobody ever asks that question.”