American Civil Liberties Union

Student Rights:
Constitutional violations are far too common in public schools across the country. Teachers and administrators have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for the students that is conducive to learning. They also have a responsibility to respect each student's individual rights. Simply put, students have rights too. Learn more and take action to protect the rights guaranteed to all Americans.


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Student Rights : Press Releases

NYCLU Hails Victory For Students' Privacy Rights Following Lawsuit Over Forced Gynecological Exams (01/31/2004)
NEW YORK -- The New York Civil Liberties Union today announced that it has reached a settlement in its federal lawsuit against the U. S. Department of Education for illegally suspending a group of female students and requiring them to submit gynecological records as a condition for reinstatement.

ACLU Releases Expert's Report on Maryland's Inadequate School Facilities (01/13/2004)
BALTIMORE -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today released a report documenting a 5 to 10 percent differential on achievement tests between students in adequate school buildings and those in older buildings. At a minimum, the cost of remedying the school facility issues that most immediately impact student achievement is estimated at $2.5 billion.

ACLU Asks Arizona School District to Reject Face-Recognition Checkpoints (12/17/2003)
PHOENIX -- The American Civil Liberties Union today asked state education officials and the Washington Elementary School District Board to reconsider a plan to install facial recognition-enabled video cameras at Royal Palm Middle School to identify sex offenders and missing children who visit the school.

South Carolina Students Were Terrorized by Police Raid With Guns and Drug Dogs, ACLU Lawsuit Charges (12/15/2003)
GOOSE CREEK, SC - Students as young as 14 were terrorized by police with guns and drug-sniffing dogs in an early-morning SWAT raid at Stratford High School that violated their rights, the American Civil Liberties Union charged in a lawsuit filed today on behalf of 20 families.

ACLU Wins Settlement for New Mexico Teachers Punished for Posting Anti-War Materials (11/14/2003)
ALBUQUERQUE -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico today announced the settlement of a civil rights lawsuit against the Albuquerque Public Schools for disciplinary actions taken against teachers and a counselor for posting materials related to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

ACLU Youth Leaders Spearhead National Week of Student Action Against the PATRIOT Act (10/22/2003)
NEW YORK - Students across the country are joining in the American Civil Liberties Union's National Week of Student Action to Oppose the Patriot Act, October 26-November 2. At college campuses from New York to California, they will reach out to their peers with information, petitions, rallies, letter-writing campaigns and other educational initiatives that highlight the violations of basic individual rights and liberties embedded in the PATRIOT Act and its planned sequel, known as Patriot II.

Judge Rules in Favor of Michigan Student's Right to Wear Anti-War T-Shirt to School (10/01/2003)
DETROIT - In a victory for students' free speech rights, a federal judge has ruled that the Dearborn teenager who was prohibited from wearing a t-shirt with a picture of President Bush that reads, "International Terrorist" must be allowed to wear the shirt to school.

Landmark Survey Finds Majority of California's Schools in Violation of Sex Education Laws (09/03/2003)
SACRAMENTO - The first statewide survey of sex education in California's public schools in almost a decade reveals that 85 percent of schools violate one or more laws governing this subject, in part because many teachers and administrators find state laws governing sex education confusing and inconsistent.. The survey also shows that parents and schools overwhelmingly support sex education.

ACLU of Colorado Challenges Law Forcing Public School Teachers and Students to Recite the Pledge of Allegiance (08/12/2003)
DENVER -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado today filed a lawsuit in federal district court challenging the constitutionality of a new law that requires teachers and students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day in all Colorado public schools.

After ACLU Intervention, Texas High School Agrees to Reinstate Amnesty International Club (08/07/2003)
SAN ANTONIO - The American Civil Liberties Union today reached an agreement with officials from the San Antonio Independent School District to reinstate Luther Burbank High School's Amnesty International Club, which had been banned in March after some of its members independently took part in a silent demonstration to raise awareness about violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people.

ACLU of Maryland Urges State Officials to Consider Public School Students in Debate Over "Trigger" Clause in Education Funding Law (07/09/2003)
BALTIMORE, MD-A current debate among state officials over a clause in a law meant to activate or ""trigger"" new statewide education funding for public schools in the state, should not prevent that funding from moving forward, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland said today.

NYCLU Sues New York School Officials for Forcing Teen-Age Girls to Undergo Intrusive Medical Exams (07/08/2003)
NEW YORK-- The New York Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against school officials for illegally suspending a group of girls for going to a ""hooky party"" and then refusing to let them return to school until they underwent intrusive and highly private medical examinations and turned over the test results.

ACLU and National Center for Lesbian Rights Help CA School District Fight Lawsuit Over Theater Program Promoting Diversity (06/02/2003)
SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union and a gay rights organization today filed a motion to intervene in an existing lawsuit on behalf of a local parents group and a children's theater company who support a local school district that has come under fire for providing diversity education through the theater arts.

ACLU of Hawaii Sues Over Strip-Search of Female Student; 15-Year-Old Accused of $30 Theft Was Stripped Totally Bare (05/13/2003)
HONOLULU -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i today filed a lawsuit against officials at a public charter school in Pahoa over the strip-search of a 15-year-old girl who was made to stand completely naked after she was accused of stealing $30.

ACLU Charges Missouri Public School District with Allowing Improper Religious Activities in Classroom (05/01/2003)
INDEPENDENCE, MO -- Saying that a teacher here taught religious claims from the Bible as historical fact, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri and Americans United for Separation of Church and State today filed a lawsuit against school district officials for allowing the teacher to promote improper religious activities in his history class.

ACLU Announces 2003 Youth Activism College Scholarship Recipients (03/28/2003)
NEW YORK--The American Civil Liberties Union today announced the names of 14 high school seniors selected to receive $4,000 college scholarships in recognition of their activist work in civil liberties.

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