Archive

California's sex education policies are the envy of most other states. California is alone in having never accepted Title V federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funds, and state laws require that sex education in schools and state-funded community programs be comprehensive and bias-free. California's laws have served as models for other states and the federal Responsible Education About Life (RE... Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Fresno City College today demanding that the school ensure that all its health science classes teach unbiased and medically accurate information. According to students at the college, lectures by Professor Dr. Bradley Lopez, who teaches an introductory health class, often present religiously-based and anti-gay views as "science" or "fact." Read More

On Nov. 5, 2008, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal, filed a writ petition in the California Supreme Court challenging the validity of Proposition 8. Proposition 8, passed by a narrow majority of California voters in the November 2008 election, purports to amend California's Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex ... Read More

On May 18, 2009, ACLU Foundation of Northern California announced a settlement with the Vallejo City Unified School District on behalf of Rochelle Hamilton, a high school student who faced anti-gay harassment from teachers and school staff. The settlement is designed to combat harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity at all the district's schools, and includes ... Read More

Today the ACLU of Northern California has asked school districts in Sonoma County to comply with California law by replacing abstinence-only sex education with curricula that teach about condoms and contraception, as well as abstinence. the ACLU has requested written confirmation that abstinence-only instruction currently provided in some junior and high schools by an outside agency called Free to... Read More

For Rochelle Hamilton, starting high school was the beginning of relentless harassment from teachers and school staff because she's openly gay. One teacher told her, "You're going to hell. This is a sin." Another said, "What's wrong with you? What are you, a man or a woman?" After months of asking the school and the district to intervene – to no avail – Rochelle and her mom reached out to the ACLU... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with the Vallejo City Unified School District on behalf of a high school student who faced anti-gay harassment and discrimination from teachers and school staff and was required to participate in a school-sponsored "counseling" group designed to discourage students from being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans... Read More

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California reached a settlement with a Lake County school district that contains a series of steps the district will undertake to protect students from anti-gay harassment and discrimination. The agreement is on behalf of a student who was persistently subjected to verbal taunting and physical abuse based on his sexual orientation.The ACLU Foundation of No... Read More

On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for the state to ban same-sex couples from civil marriage. The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and co-counsel represent a group of committed lesbian and gay couples as well as two non-profit organizations, Equality California and Our Family Coalition. Our co-counsel are the National Center for Lesbian Rights, La... Read More

After the City terminated the Sea Scouts' free berth space, the Sea Scouts sued the City, claiming that it had violated their First Amendment and equal protection rights. The trial court dismissed the action, and plaintiffs appealed. The First Appellate district affirmed. Evans v. City of Berkeley, 104 Cal. App. 4th 1 (2002). The appellate court (after affirming the dismissal of contract and o... Read More