ACLU, Clovis Unified announce details on graduation feather agreement

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California released details on the deal struck Tuesday night between Clovis Unified School District and a Clovis High senior that will allow him to wear a ceremonial Native American eagle feather during graduation ceremonies on Thursday.

Spokeswoman Rebecca Farmer of the ACLU, one of several advocacy groups representing 18-year-old Clovis High student Christian Titman, gave the specifics on how the feather will be displayed and said that the Titman family will work with the district to “discuss ways to better respond in the future” to similar requests.

Titman will wear the feather in his hair during the ceremony, but he will attach the feather to his cap during the traditional tassel turn near the end of the graduation. Both of these options were suggested by the district after Titman and his family petitioned the district in May for permission to wear the feather, which symbolizes achievement and growth into manhood, in his cap throughout the ceremony.

Renee Titman, Christian’s mother, said Wednesday that her family “got exactly what we wanted” out of the deal. She said that she had multiple conversations with district officials and a member of the school board, all of whom flatly refused any inclusion of the feather in Christian’s ceremony. She refused to name any of the employees.

“The district had always told me no to everything before the ACLU was involved,” she said. “It was our idea to tie the feather to the tassel, but the school district wasn’t willing to accept that.”

“He was actually told that if he had the feather on him at all, he would be removed from the ceremony,” she added. “He would be searched and turned away if he had anything in his pockets beyond his house keys.”

However, court documents filed by Christian Titman’s own attorneys indicated that an associate superintendent contacted him via email before any court documents were filed and offered the two options that were eventually agreed upon.

CUSD spokeswoman Kelly Avants provided The Bee with a copy of the agreement signed by Titman, Associate Superintendent Norm Anderson and both parties’ counsel.

It says that Anderson and Titman will meet after graduation to “discuss ways to improve communication regarding graduation dress code accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs and process for resolving such requested accommodations.”

Avants said that no ironclad policy for handling such requests exists. Instead, the district will continue to follow the “traditions and procedures” established over the years on graduation dress code and dealing with any claims. She added that the district has no interest in creating any set, board-approved policies on the matter.

The deal came just hours after Clovis Unified attorneys and legal representatives from the ACLU, California Indian Legal Services and the Native American Rights Fund met in Fresno County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon.

Titman’s lawyers sought a temporary restraining order against the district. Judge Donald Black offered a delay of court proceedings to Titman’s lawyers so that they could review the district’s court filings, and they agreed. He also asked both parties to try to find a compromise, which prompted the several hours of meetings that led to Tuesday’s late-night agreement.

The hearing, which was rescheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, was then canceled.

Renee Titman said her family is just glad to have the issue resolved.

She is proud of her son, who completed 60 units of high school credits during the first semester of his senior year to make up for lost units from his freshman and sophomore years. This required Christian to take classes both before and after the traditional school day, as well as several online courses.

She also thanked Christian’s Clovis High School counselor, Gina Dean, for her help in getting her son to the finish line.

Lastly, Renee Titman thanked the local Native American community for its support.

“The community really got behind us,” she said. “This is an issue throughout the country, and Christian is hoping that he will help someone get their rights recognized in some small way.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2015 at 5:09 PM with the headline "ACLU, Clovis Unified announce details on graduation feather agreement."