LGBT Equality

The ACLU works for equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. We fight discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Hope and resilience for trans people. Read more

All about LGBTQ student rights at school. Know Your Rights

Your rights: gender expression and bathrooms. Read More

Ashton stood up for a law to support trans students. Gov. Brown... Read more

News

ACLU client Taylor Victor wearing t-shirt at school that reads "Nobody Knows I'm a Lesbian"

California School District Changes Dress Code after ACLU Sues for Censorship

February 17, 2016

File Under :

Education Equity, Free Speech, LGBT Equality

Last night, the Manteca Unified School District voted to update the dress code as part of a settlement with the ACLU of Northern California, which sued two Sierra High School officials on behalf of a lesbian student in October 2015. Eleventh-grader... Read more

Blog

ACLU client Taylor Victor wearing t-shirt that reads "Nobody Knows I'm a Lesbian"

I Sued My School for Censorship and Won — Because Being a Lesbian Shouldn’t Violate the Dress Code

February 17, 2016

File Under :

Education Equity, Free Speech, LGBT Equality

It all started with a t-shirt. I was at the mall, and I saw a shirt I knew I had to buy. It said “NOBODY KNOWS I’M A LESBIAN.” It made me laugh because pretty much everybody knows I’m a lesbian. My school tried to stop me from wearing it. Read more »

Blog

Leave It to Beaver Dow Billingsley Mathers 1959

Stuck in a Gender Rut: Clovis School Refuses to Bring Dress Code in Line with the Law

January 28, 2016

File Under :

Education Equity, LGBT Equality, Racial Justice

Clovis Unified School District outdid itself once again. The district had the opportunity to change its painfully outdated dress code, but the district defied reason - and the law - this week. Read more »

News

Civil Rights Coalition Ready to Launch Education Campaign Following Failed Anti-Transgender Ballot Push

December 21, 2015

File Under :

LGBT Equality

A coalition of California civil rights and LGBT organizations said today that supporters of a proposed anti-transgender ballot initiative announced that they have failed to submit the signatures necessary to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot. Read more

Blog

Real Changes to Facebook's 'Real Name' Policy

December 18, 2015

File Under :

Free Speech, LGBT Equality, Technology and Civil Liberties

Facebook just announced concrete changes to its harmful “real name” policy. Following up on its promise to groups including the ACLU of California, the changes are meant to reduce risks such as abusive reporting and lockouts of users and their... Read more »

Blog

Detention for Long Hair?

December 11, 2015

File Under :

Education Equity, Free Speech, LGBT Equality, Racial Justice

Never has it been more important for students to know their rights, especially in the face of increasing police presence in our schools. Look no further than what happened in Columbia, South Carolina last month, where video footage showed a school... Read more »

Blog

Facebook Commits to Changing Its Real Name Policy

October 30, 2015

File Under :

Free Speech, LGBT Equality, Technology and Civil Liberties

In response to the demands of a global coalition, Facebook announced changes on Oct. 30 to its user name policy designed to reduce abusive targeting and increase due process for users. Read more »

Blog

Facebook, It's Time to Fix Your Real Names Policy

October 5, 2015

File Under :

Free Speech, LGBT Equality, Technology and Civil Liberties

What’s in a name? If you ask Facebook, it’s the text on a driver’s license or a formal document like a utility bill or library card. Read more »

Know Your Rights: LGBTQ Students

Issues :

Education Equity, LGBT Equality

When you're at school, you have the right to be treated fairly and with respect by other students and school officials, including everyone from custodians to teachers. You have the right to be yourself. Read more

Blog

#LongHairDontCare... Unless You Live in Clovis

September 3, 2015

File Under :

Education Equity, LGBT Equality, Racial Justice

Like any other high school student, William Pleasant, a seventeen-year-old, biracial Black senior, arrived at Buchanan High ready to enroll in his five Advanced Placement (AP) classes for the coming school year. But unlike other students, the school... Read more »