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The ACLU is trying to recruit high school-age kids to report their school if access to pro-gay websites is denied
The American Civil Liberties Union wants to recruit your high school-age kids.
A new project called Don’t Filter Me was launched by the ACLU’s LGBT Project in conjunction with the Yale Law School LGBT Litigation Clinic, and the goal is to reach out to kids in public school in an effort to “combat illegal censorship of pro-LGBT [lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender] information on public school computer systems.” When public high schools block pro-gay websites, the First Amendment and the Equal Access Act are being violated.
I’m all for pro-gay websites and I’m definitely anti-censorship, but I don’t think I’m all for my kid acting as an agent for the ACLU.
Should students be allowed to post the Ten Commandments on their lockers?
Two Virginia schools have recently pushed buttons by displaying – and then removing – copies of the Ten Commandments in their halls.
In the first case, a school district in Giles County displayed copies of the Ten Commandments along with part of the Constitution in each of their schools. The framed displays were a gift from a pastor. They were removed after the ACLU threatened legal action against the school district.
The second case is more complicated: a group of student athletes displayed the Ten Commandments on their personal lockers. The school removed them, even though it normally allows students to decorate their lockers with personal notes and the like.
This second incident has brought out the ACLU again, but this time, they’re on the side of the students.
A 19-year old African American, former student of the Aberdeen, Washington School District filed a federal lawsuit against them on Tuesday, alleging they didn’t do enough to prevent the bullying he endured daily. Russell Dickerson III and his parents claim that the young man was the target of racial and anti-gay epithets. One bully even threatened Dickerson with a lynching.
The situation was so bad that the American Civil Liberties Union became involved in 2007. The ACLU organized the press conference held in Seattle announcing the lawsuit.
ACLU goes after boobies bracelet ban
My 10-year-old recently polled her classmates to see who wears “I Love Boobies” bracelets and why. She thinks the bracelets are silly and suspected that her classmates were wearing them simply because they are trendy and have the word “boobies” on them. As it turns out, she was only half right.
Most of the girls she polled said they wore “I Love Boobies” bracelets for the reason they were intended: To raise awareness of breast cancer. The boys, however, had a different story. With only one exception, they made no mention of breast cancer when asked about the bracelets. Instead, they mostly shrugged and said they wear them because they like them.
Regardless of the reasons kids are wearing the little rubber bracelets, many schools have decided they are inappropriate in the classroom and have banned them. But for a school in Easton, Pennsylvania, a boobies bracelet ban has landed them in court. Continue reading »
What happens when dress codes and religious freedom collide?
For Ariana Iacono, the jewelry she wears in her pierced nose is more than a fashion statement. It’s a symbol of her faith, a belief that modifying and manipulating one’s flesh strengthens the bond between mind, body and soul. Her school, however, says the ring in her nose is nothing more than a violation of the dress code and grounds for suspension. Continue reading »
The Robbins Family, by Lori Waselchuk for USA TODAY
Lower Merion School District in Ardmore, PA is under fire for having snapped 56,000 photos of its 2,600 high school students over the course of two years using the webcams in school-issued laptops.
USA Today reports that the “family of Blake Robbins, 15, has filed a federal lawsuit claiming invasion of privacy. The U.S. attorney is investigating, and the American Civil Liberties Union is supporting the Robbinses’ suit.” Blake’s parents realized their son’s privacy had been violated when he was asked to see the assistant principal about “possible drug use she learned of through photos and instant messages captured on Blake’s computer.” The Robbins family says the “drugs” were nothing but a handful of Mike and Ikes. The question is, is this really news? Or just another story about poor little rich kids? Continue reading »
As if 18-year-old Constance McMillen didn’t have enough obstacles to overcome in her life, she now has the distinction of being the person who got her high school prom canceled.
McMillen, with the assistance of the Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, had petitioned the Itawamba County School District Board to allow her attend the Itawamba Agricultural High School prom with her date. The problem, at least as the school board sees it, is that McMillen is a lesbian and her prospective date is a girl. Continue reading »
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