Home : Student Rights

ACLU Raises Concerns About RI School's "Anti-Bullying" Policy (11/13/2002)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - - Rejecting concerns voiced by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, the East Providence School Committee last night gave final passage to an overly broad and vague "anti-bullying" policy. The ACLU said it is now considering a legal challenge to the policy.

ACLU Responds to Student Protests Against Kentucky Gay-Straight Alliance (11/07/2002)
NEW YORK - Last week, officials at Boyd County High School in Ashland, Kentucky granted a seven-month-old request by students to start a Gay-Straight Alliance club at the school after the national American Civil Liberties Union and its Kentucky affiliate sent a letter explaining the school's legal obligation under the federal Equal Access Act to let the club form.

ACLU of Arkansas and ACLU Voting Rights Project Sue to Restore Voting Rights of College Students (10/25/2002)
LITTLE ROCK--Acting on behalf of the governor's daughter, among others, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and the ACLU's National Voting Rights Project today filed a federal lawsuit to challenge a circuit judge's decision that college students and others already registered to vote in Clark County are unqualified to vote in the November 5 election.

NYCLU Urges School Officials to Protect Students From Unwanted Military Recruitment Solicitations (10/14/2002)
NEW YORK -The New York Civil Liberties Union today criticized the city's top education official for failing to protect public high school students and their families from unwanted military recruitment solicitations and for using scarce education dollars to subsidize the program under the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2002.

South Dakota School Officials Terrorized Kindergarten Classes with Drug-Sniffing Dogs, ACLU Charges (07/25/2002)
SIOUX FALLS, SD--The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of 17 Native American students - some as young as six years old - who were terrorized when public school officials and law enforcement officers brought in a German Shepherd to conduct a suspicionless drug sweep of all K-12 classrooms. One of the plaintiffs in the case, Jonathan Heth, 2nd grade

ACLU Supports Right of Iowa Students to Distribute Christian Literature at School (07/11/2002)
DES MOINES--The Iowa Civil Liberties Union today announced that it is publicly supporting the Christian students who recently filed a lawsuit against the Davenport Schools asserting the right to distribute religious literature during non-instructional time.

Ignoring Expert Advice, Supreme Court Expands School Drug Testing of Students (06/27/2002)
NEW YORK-The Supreme Court today narrowly upheld school drug testing of students involved in extracurricular activities, a decision the American Civil Liberties Union said will only set up more barriers to keeping children off drugs.

Federal Court Finds University of IL Violated Rights of Students and Faculty in Mascot Debate (05/28/2002)
CHICAGO--A federal court today ruled that University of Illinois officials violated the free speech rights of students and faculty when they required ""pre-clearance"" for any statements about the school's controversial use of Native American Chief Illiniwek as a mascot. 

At ACLU Urging, FL High School Ends Discriminatory Graduation Dress Code (05/23/2002)
MIAMI -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Equality Florida today applauded the decision of a local high school principal to do away with a discriminatory dress code which required senior girls to wear dresses or skirts with hemlines above their graduation gowns during the ceremony.  

ACLU Calls on CA University to Insure a Safety and Tolerance in the Wake of Student Demonstrations (05/17/2002)
SAN FRANCISCO--The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today sent a letter urging San Francisco State University officials ""to create an environment conducive to peaceful protest and education"" after officials turned over tapes of recent student protests to the District Attorney's office for possible hate crimes violations.  

Louisiana Family Seeks ACLU Help in Ending Sponsored Prayers in Public Schools (05/17/2002)
BATON ROUGE, LA--Acting on behalf of a family that declined to be identified for fear of retaliation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to end public school endorsement of prayer during graduation and award ceremonies.  

MA High School Settles Free Speech Case; Senior No Longer Banned from Prom and Graduation (05/15/2002)
BOSTON--Facing a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, officials from Holliston High School today agreed to end the punishment imposed on Amanda Melanson, a high school senior who displayed a protest sign during the school's annual talent show.

In Letter to UC Berkeley Chancellor, ACLU Opposes Suppression of Pro-Palestinian Student Protest (05/07/2002)
SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the University of California at Berkeley's ACLU chapter today sent a letter to the University's Chancellor expressing serious concerns about the school's threat to suspend for an entire year 41 pro-Palestinian student protestors who were arrested for trespass during a sit-in.