California student can wear eagle feather at graduation

California student can wear eagle feather at graduation


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Native American student who sued his California school district because it refused to let him wear an eagle feather to his high school graduation will be able to wear the sacred item after all.

Attorneys for Christian Titman and officials with Clovis Unified School District reached an agreement that allows him to wear the feather in his hair during the Thursday ceremony and attach it to his cap for the traditional tassel turn, said Rebecca Farmer, a spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, one of the groups representing Titman.

Titman's mother, Renee, said the district had refused both options until the ACLU got involved.

"I'm very happy with this outcome," she said. "But it would never have gotten this far if they had said, 'Let's figure out a compromise.' We would have worked with them, but there was no working with them."

The district confirmed an agreement was reached Tuesday but said it was "largely consistent" with previous offers made to accommodate Titman, 18. He is a member of the Pit River Tribe, which considers eagle feathers sacred and symbolic of a significant accomplishment.

"It has been our goal from the beginning to find a mutually agreeable solution that honors and respects the culture of our Native American students while affirming our long-standing traditions and standards honoring every one of our graduating seniors," Superintendent Janet Young said in the statement.

Earlier Tuesday, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald Black suggested the two parties try to reach a resolution, noting that Titman and the district had raised the possibility that he could wear the feather in his hair, the Fresno Bee reported.

Titman's lawyers said in a lawsuit filed Monday that he wanted to mark his achievement and honor his heritage by attaching the 5-inch feather to the tassel of his cap during his graduation from Clovis High School, which is about 10 miles northeast of Fresno. They accused the district of violating Titman's rights to freedom of expression and religion under the state constitution.

In a letter to Titman's attorneys in May, Young said the district had a strict graduation dress code. It previously refused to allow stoles, leis, rosaries and necklaces on graduation caps and gowns, and its dress code is neutral to any religion, Young said.

The issue has come up in other U.S. school districts. Last month, a federal judge in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ruled that an American Indian student couldn't wear an eagle feather on her graduation cap.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell said the school's policy of prohibiting all decorations on graduation caps did not violate the U.S. Constitution's right to exercise religion freely because it was religion-neutral and applied generally.

Titman's case was different because it was being brought under the California Constitution.

___

Associated Press writer Olga R. Rodriguez contributed to this story.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos

Most recent Features stories

SUDHIN THANAWALA

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast