Archive

Oakland police are arresting school-age African American youth at shockingly high rates, contributing to a burgeoning education crisis for students of color, according to a new report released today by the Black Organizing Project, ACLU of Northern California, and Public Counsel. The report, "From Report Card to Criminal Record: The Impact of Policing Oakland Youth," reveals disturbing trends abou... Read More

On Sep. 19, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will rehear the ACLU of Northern California's federal class-action challenge to a California law that mandates that DNA is collected from anyone arrested on suspicion of a felony, whether or not they are ever charged or convicted. The oral argument is scheduled for 10am in Courtroom 1 at the James R. Browning US Courthouse in San Francisco. Read More

The City of Fresno is violating the constitutional rights of homeless people whose personal possessions are being destroyed and confiscated in ongoing raids, according to a lawsuit filed today in federal court by civil rights groups. The groups are seeking a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction to stop the relentless attacks on Fresno’s homeless residents. The lawsuit was filed i... Read More

The California affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union announced a settlement today with the State of California that will establish a comprehensive monitoring and enforcement system to ensure school districts do not unlawfully charge fees to students for educational activities. Read More

The California Supreme Court has unanimously ruled 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 tuition rates at California public colleges and universities, regardless of their immigration status. The Court found that federal law did not bar California from offering tuition equality to students.... Read More

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 other essential educational supplies. This practice violates the California Constitution which, since 1879, has guaranteed children a free education. Read More

Today the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and the W. Haywood Burns Institute released a report that explores how racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in access to education, employment, and housing impact the contact people will have with the criminal justice system. The report, "Balancing the Scales of Justice," found that these factors relate to how likely it is... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) has reached a settlement agreement with the Del Norte Unified School District in its class-action lawsuit on behalf of Native American students impacted by the closure of several grades at the only school teaching Yurok language and culture in the district. The suit, filed in 2007, charged that the district's closure of grades 6-8 of the Margaret Keating E... Read More

On November 23, 2009, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California and civil rights allies filed an amicus brief in Darensburg v. Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Plaintiffs argued that MTC, the planning body for all twenty-six independent transit operators in the Bay Area, consistently under-funded AC Transit, a bus line with high minority ridership, in comparison to other transit systems li... Read More

San Francisco – A lawsuit filed today by the ACLU of Northern California seeks to stop California's policy of mandating that DNA is collected from anyone arrested for a felony, whether or not they are ever charged or convicted. The ACLU opposes this law because it violates constitutional guarantees of privacy and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, and because of the rmful impact on comm... Read More