Clovis students caught with alcohol at prom barred from walking in graduation

Students who were caught with alcohol at Clovis North High School’s senior prom pleaded with district officials this week to lift their ban from participating in graduation ceremonies.

The students barred from graduation were among the 30 or so who were on a party bus with alcohol at Clovis North’s May 3 prom. According to a statement attorney Steve Smith provided to ABC30, 22 students avoided punishment by denying their possession or consumption of alcohol, while nine were barred from participating in graduation after taking responsibility.

Smith, who is representing eight of the students, said his clients were told they’d be “treated better” if they “admitted their involvement.” Instead, he says their honesty earned them disciplinary action that others on the party bus didn’t face.

With graduation right around the corner, three of the banned students pleaded for leniency with Clovis Unified trustees at Wednesday’s board meeting. Two students identified themselves from Clovis North, and another identified as a Buchanan High senior.

The students said they had a lapse in judgment and apologized before the school board Wednesday evening. They asked trustees to allow them to participate in graduation, citing their high grade-point averages, participation in extracurricular activities and history of attending Clovis Unified schools.

One student told the school board she “owned up to it right away because accountability is something this district taught me.”

“On May 3, while attending the Clovis North prom, I made a huge mistake being on a limo bus that contained alcohol. I felt lost and pressured to do things that didn’t align with what actually happened that night. But at the end of the day, I went and stood in the line that I understood was admitting to alcohol being on the bus,” one student said in a statement read by Smith.

Board trustee Dr. Steven Fogg sympathized with the students’ pleas.

“This last week or two has been really kind of heartbreaking with some of the things going on. Knowing maybe some of these kids won’t be walking — it just breaks my heart, some (of the) choices that kids make. And these are good kids,” he said.

Kelly Avants, spokesperson for Clovis Unified, told The Bee that the district is standing by its decision.

“We come into this conversation with the lens of really looking for ways that we can deter students from making poor choices that have the potential to be quite devastating or even permanent in their impact on their lives or to their families’ lives,” Avants said in a phone interview.

To achieve this, the district has a “decades-old” practice of having students sign a senior contract. Behavior expectations are also laid out when students buy prom tickets, Avants said.

Should students arrive at prom “visibly under the influence or noticeably smelling of alcohol or another substance,” Avants said the district will investigate.

“If someone were to make allegations that an investigation was inconsistent, then we definitely want their input on that and would like to have any other information or evidence that they feel is pertinent to that investigation, and we’ll absolutely add it to the investigation and follow that through,” Avants said.

The district’s “Senior Expectations & Graduation Ceremony Contract” states, “It is understood that any participant breaking this contractual agreement will be denied participation in the graduation ceremony, or be removed from the ceremony, and will not receive a diploma that evening.” Avants pointed out that students and parents sign the contract in April.

Additionally, per the Clovis North High School 2024-2025 Dance Contract, students “may be subject to an evaluation” if they’re suspected to be under the influence of a drugs or alcohol and “will face disciplinary action” if confirmed.

Smith, the students’ attorney, told the Bee via telephone that the team is currently waiting to see if it’ll need to pursue legal action.

The graduation ceremonies for Buchanan and Clovis North are slated to take place at Veterans Memorial Stadium on June 3 and 4, respectively.

This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM.