Students’ & Youth Rights
Students Are NOT Second-Class Citizens!
In spite of the Supreme Court’s ringing endorsement of students’ rights in the landmark Tinker decision, constitutional violations are far too common in public schools across the country. Articles about controversial subjects written for student newspapers are censored. Lockers and…
Students’ Rights: The Basics
You spend nearly half your waking hours in or around school from when you’re six years old until (at least) you turn eighteen. Thus, it is very important that you know your rights and responsibilities in the school environment. Just…
Improving Education for All
On May 17, 2000, the ACLU, along with other civil rights organizations, filed a lawsuit against the state of California because of the terrible conditions in many of its public schools. Parents, students and teachers argued that the state is…
Right to Clean and Safe Schools, Textbooks, and Qualified Teachers
The ACLU, as part of a large coalition of civil rights groups, sued the state of California in 2000, alleging that California was negligent in assuring equal access to public education, since public schools serving poor children and children of…
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August 21, 2012
Parents and Doctors Sue Clovis Unified School District Over Sex Education
FRESNO, CA – Today parents and physicians sued the Clovis Unified School District over its high school abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education. The lawsuit charges that the district is violating California law and putting teens’ health at risk by teaching students misinformation…
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June 9, 2011
Significant Free Speech Victory at La Jolla High
SAN DIEGO – La Jolla High School (LJHS) must stop whitewashing political messages from the campus’s senior benches, a Superior Court judge ordered this afternoon in the ACLU’s case on behalf of Yumehiko Hoshijima. The stipulated preliminary injunction signed by…
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May 25, 2011
La Jolla High School Principal Orders Senior Benches Be Removed
UPDATE: After the ACLU issued the following press release, the School District agreed to order Principal Shelburne not to remove the benches prior to next week’s court hearing. — In a rash act of administrative arrogance, the Principal of La…
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November 15, 2010
California Supreme Court Unanimously Rules in Favor of Tuition Equality
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 15, 2010 SACRAMENTO – The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that students who attend at least three years of high school in California and who graduate from a California high school are eligible for in-state…
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September 10, 2010
California ACLU Affiliates Sue State of California Over Public School Academic Fees Charged to Children
LOS ANGELES – The California affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class action lawsuit against the State of California and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today for allowing school districts throughout the state to charge fees for books and…
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September 17, 2012
San Diego ACLU Celebrates Constitution Day with 400+ Class Discussions
In its sixth year, the ACLU’s Constitutional Civics Program will reach more than 15,000 students in 48 schools in twelve school districts. Scores of volunteer attorneys and business leaders will present the fundamentals of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill…
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November 2, 2011
Spoken Word Artists Slam for Free Speech
The First Amendment says, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and…
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September 16, 2011
Celebrate the Constitution and the Bill of Rights!
September 16th is Constitution Day! On September 17, 1787, the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention held their final meeting. Only one item of business occupied the agenda that day: to sign the Constitution of the United States of America….
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August 24, 2011
Equal Protection, Teacher Layoffs, and Student Learning
Please join the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties and the American Constitution Society-San Diego Lawyer ChapterWednesday, August 24 5:30 – 7:30 pm Panel and discussion: Equal Protection, Teacher Layoffs and Student Learning Thomas Jefferson School of Law[directions] Panelists…
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October 17, 2010
Protect All Youth
A coalition of concerned parents, pastors, students, educators, elected and appointed officials, law enforcement officers and community organizations will come together to mourn the loss of the 11 LGBT youth who’ve taken their lives in recent weeks as a result…
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May 11, 2012
Not-So-Subtle Campaign to Pressure Parents to Cough Up for iPads
Update 5/30/2012: The Poway Unified School District and the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Countiesresolved a thorny issue in which a district elementary school apparently pressured families to pay for iPads for their 4th and 5th grade students, in violation of the…
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November 2, 2011
Students Are NOT Second-Class Citizens!
In spite of the Supreme Court’s ringing endorsement of students’ rights in the landmark Tinker decision, constitutional violations are far too common in public schools across the country. Articles about controversial subjects written for student newspapers are censored. Lockers and…
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October 11, 2011
California is Model for Common-Sense Approach to Immigrants
California is poised to become a leader in solving problems faced by immigrants with signatures by the governor on a number of important immigrant rights bills this legislative session. Important protections for civil liberties, prevention of problematic employer mandates, and…
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September 16, 2011
Happy Constitution Day!
San Diego – September 16, Constitution Day 2011 will be celebrated in more than 430 classes throughout San Diego County with presentations by volunteer attorneys coordinated by the San Diego ACLU. In its fifth year, the ACLU’s Constitutional Civics Program…
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August 4, 2011
Student Groups Can’t Discriminate and Get Paid for It
A federal appeals court decision Tuesday ruled that San Diego State University could withhold funding and other campus benefits to a Christian fraternity and sorority that barred gays and lesbians as well as non-Christians. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals…
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March 24, 2012
Social Networking Rights
The vast majority of young people living in the United States–and across the globe, for that matter–go online daily and use social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. With all this information-sharing, many questions about ownership of personal information…
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November 15, 2011
H-E-L-L-O: Students Have a Right to Privacy in Their Cell Phones
New ACLU of California Report The ACLU of California has created a new report to help schools limit the use of cell phones on their campuses but at the same time, respect the privacy rights of students. As cell phones…
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November 2, 2011
Students Are NOT Second-Class Citizens!
In spite of the Supreme Court’s ringing endorsement of students’ rights in the landmark Tinker decision, constitutional violations are far too common in public schools across the country. Articles about controversial subjects written for student newspapers are censored. Lockers and…
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October 31, 2011
Resources for Immigrant Students
Our friends at Equality Alliance prepared a list of resources available to AB 540/Immigrant Students. It’s a terrific list that provides links to information about college admission, California Non-Resident Tuition Exemption Requests, scholarships, and University AB 540 Resource Guides. Please…
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October 30, 2011
Students: Know Your Health Rights
If you’re a teen in California, you have rights. That’s what >this booklet, Your Health, Your Rights, prepared by our friends at the ACLU of Northern California, is all about. You have a right to privacy and reproductive health care….
