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Juvenile Justice System Failing Ohio's Children, Investigation Finds
A report card issued by the the ACLU, ACLU of Ohio, Children's Law Center, Inc. and the Office of the Ohio Public Defender, finds that the Ohio juvenile justice system is failing the state's children by permitting children to be routinely shackled, mandating that children accused of certain crimes be charged as adults and by not ensuring that all children accused of crimes get lawyers.
> Report Card: Evaluating Juvenile Justice in Ohio
> Press Release

Settlement Approved in Case Alleging Discrimination Against Native American Students in South Dakota On December 10, 2007, a federal district court judge approved a settlement in a class action lawsuit alleging discrimination against Native American children enrolled in the Winner School District. The Winner/Ideal Native American community and the District reached an agreement to settle the case in June of 2007. Learn More >> RESOURCES: >In re Spears: Ensuring Pre-Trial Right to Counsel for Juveniles > J.P. v. Taft: Fighting for Incarcerated Minors' Access to the Courts > Other Efforts to Ensure Adequate Access to Counsel Ensuring Access to Counsel in Ohio In 1967's In Re Gault, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that children under 18 have the right to counsel to assist with charges against them. More than forty years later, the ACLU is working to defend the legal rights of youth in Ohio. We have petitioned the Supreme Court to make it more difficult for juveniles to waive their right to an attorney, launched a public education campaign to inform young people of their legal rights, and are currently monitoring the State to make sure that incarcerated youth have access to the courts. Learn more about our work to defend Ohio youth's right to counsel >>

House Subcommittee Considers Bill To End “Life Without Parole” For Children (06/09/2009)
WASHINGTON – A key House Judiciary Subcommittee held a hearing today on a bill to help end the practice of sentencing children to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This legislation, known as H.R. 2289, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009, would deny funding to states that refuse to offer a parole option to juvenile offenders and authorizes state grants to improve legal representation for youths charged with life sentences. The hearing was conducted by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.

ACLU Files Lawsuit Charging Police And School Officials In Mississippi With Racial Discrimination And Excessive Force Against Schoolchildren (04/09/2009)
SOUTHAVEN, MS – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit charging Southaven, Mississippi police and DeSoto County school officials with assaulting and racially discriminating against a group of schoolchildren riding home on a school bus.

Parental Responsibility Ordinance Overturned in Davenport (03/24/2009)
The ACLU of Iowa announced today that a judge has thrown out a charge against a working mother under Davenport's "Parental Responsibility Ordinance," declaring the ordinance unconstitutional because it lacked due process.

ACLU Report Reveals Breakdown In Mississippi Alternative Schools (02/24/2009)
JACKSON, MS – Alternative schools in Mississippi are not adequately helping struggling students to succeed academically, leaving too many of the state's children to drift toward dropout and failure, according to a new American Civil Liberties Union report released today.

Bipartisan Crime Prevention Bill Takes Smart Approach to Juvenile Justice (02/13/2009)
WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced H.R.1064 and S. 435, identical House and Senate bills to fund prevention and intervention programs that are comprehensive, community-centered and evidence-based efforts to combat gangs and youth violence.

The Right to Education in the Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems in the United States (02/05/2009)
On December 31, 2008 the Dignity in Schools Campaign and six organizations -- including the ACLU -- submitted a report on the right to education in U.S. juvenile and criminal justice facilities to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Mr. Vernor Muñoz. The report documents the school to prison pipeline; demographic and educational characteristics of the juvenile and adult incarcerated populations; the lack of adequate access to quality education programs in juvenile facilities and state and federal prisons; and examples of youth detention facilities in New York, Texas, and Louisiana that violate the rights of youth to education and to be treated with dignity. The report was submitted to the Special Rapporteur, who is currently preparing a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council about prisoner education worldwide to be released in June 2009.

(A Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education is called upon to examine, monitor, advise and publicly report back on the status of the human right to education in countries around the world.)

A Looming Crisis (12/18/2008)
The secure detention of youth after arrest and before arraignment in facilities administered by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

A Call to Amend the Ohio Rules of Juvenile Procedure to Protect the Right to Counsel (03/09/2006)
A Briefing Paper by the ACLU, Children's Law Center & Office of the Ohio State Public Defender

DISPROPORTIONATE MINORITY CONFINEMENT IN MASSACHUSETTS: Executive Summary (06/02/2003)

ACLU REPORT: DISPROPORTIONATE MINORITY CONFINEMENT IN MASSACHUSETTS (06/02/2003)

D.P., et al. v. City of Southaven, et al. - Complaint (04/09/2009)

Observations and Supplementary Brief in Petition Before the Inter-American on Human Rights Alleging Violations of the Human Rights of Juveniles Sentenced to Life without Parole (12/11/2008)
Observations on the response of the United States regarding juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and supplemental submission in support of petition alleging violations of the human rights of juveniles sentenced to life without parole in the United States.

ACLU recommendations for “A Call to Action for Juvenile Justice” (10/21/2008)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-partisan organization with hundreds of thousands of activists and members and 54 affiliates nationwide, we are recommending actions that the new president and the next Congress must take to reform the nation’s broken juvenile justice system.

Agreed Supplement Order (07/07/2008)
On July 7, 2008, the Court filed a supplemental order, detailing remaining issues to be resolved between parties. >>Click below to read the official Order

Complaint in Harris et al v Atlanta Independent School System (03/11/2008)

ACLU Letter to House of Representatives on Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009 (06/18/2009)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-partisan organization with more than half million activists and members and fiftythree affiliates nationwide, we write to express our strong support for H.R. 2289, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009, which would restore discretion to judges and juries by denying funding to states that refuse to offer a parole option to juvenile offenders and allow states to improve the quality of legal representation for youths facing potential life sentences.

Coalition Sign-on Letter to Department of Justice Urging Support of Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) (04/06/2009)

ACLU Letter to Senate Urging Support of Youth PROMISE Act (02/26/2009)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-partisan organization with more than a half million activists and members and 53 affiliates nationwide, we urge you to cosponsor the Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education (“Youth PROMISE”) Act, recently introduced by Senators Robert Casey (DPA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). This bipartisan legislation seeks to address youth violence by providing resources to communities to pursue comprehensive, evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies to decrease juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity.

ACLU Letter to House Urging Support of Youth PROMISE Act (02/26/2009)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-partisan organization with more than a half million activists and members and 53 affiliates nationwide, we urge you to cosponsor the Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education (“Youth PROMISE”) Act, recently introduced by Representatives Robert Scott (D-VA) and Michael Castle (R-DE). This bipartisan legislation seeks to address youth violence by providing resources to communities to pursue comprehensive, evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies to decrease juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity.

A Quick Glance at the ACLU's Legislative Priorities for the 111th Congress (01/13/2009)

Report: Locking Up Our Children (05/14/2008)

Profiles of Kids at Risk - Atlanta, GA (02/26/2008)

Disproportionate Minority Contact (03/28/2006)

Profiles of Kids at Risk - Winner, SD (03/28/2006)

Ensuring Access to Counsel in Ohio: Stories of Children Who Waived (03/09/2006)

What Is The School-to-Prison Pipeline? (06/06/2008)

School to Prison Pipeline: Discussion Questions (06/06/2008)

School to Prison Pipeline: Fact Sheet (PDF) (06/06/2008)
This fact sheet describes the basic steps on the path from school to prison.

School to Prison Pipeline: Talking Points (06/06/2008)

Harris et al. v. Atlanta Independent School System (03/11/2008)
A class action lawsuit against the Atlanta Independent School System and Community Education Partners (CEP) for violating students’ constitutional right to an adequate public education.

J.P. v. Taft (10/01/2007)
Protecting incarcerated juveniles' access to the courts in Ohio.

In Re Spears (09/27/2007)
Defending juveniles' pre-trial right to counsel in Ohio.

Antoine v. Winner School District (03/28/2006)
The ACLU recently settled this lawsuit, which alleged discrimination against Native American students in a mostly-white school district in South Dakota. The ACLU is now working with the community and the defendant school district to implement changes in the district's schools.