It is critical that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals clarify that the Fourth Amendment applies to the use of force against schoolchildren. J.W. v. Paley involves Fourteenth and Fourth Amendment claims stemming from a police officer tasing a high school student with disabilities who was attempting to exit the school building to calm down following an incident with another student. The district court dismissed the Fourteenth Amendment claim based on precedent, but allowed the Fourth Amendment claim to proceed, denying qualified immunity to the officer. The Fifth Circuit, however, reversed the lower court’s decision regarding the Fourth Amendment claim, ultimately leaving schoolchildren without any constitutional protection from excessive force by law enforcement in the Fifth Circuit.

The ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Flint Police Department and the Flint Chamber of Commerce on behalf of Cameron McCadden, a child with disabilities who was handcuffed by a school resource officer (SRO) when he was seven years old. Cameron, who is black, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The American Civil Liberties and the ACLU of the District of Columbia filed an administrative complaint with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal volunteer service agency that operates the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. The complaint was filed on behalf of 22-year-old Susie Balcom, a recent college graduate and two-term AmeriCorps state program alumna who received multiple offers to serve with the national program. After she completed the CNCS medical questionnaire, which included her mental health history, the offers were rescinded.