Between 2010 and 2011, 251 school districts across California openly reported to the state that they denied more than 20,000 students the English language instruction to which they are legally entitled. This failure comes with grave consequences, as children without basic language support services in the classroom are more likely to perform poorly on reading and math tests, and drop out before graduation.
We have evidence that students in need of English assistance – called English learners – have not received these essential services. One of these students, a high school student, reported that he sometimes spent the entire school day without saying a word. After a year of high school, 15 of the English learner students in his class had dropped out. The student grew so desperate that he ended up using a translator application on his cell phone to try to reconstruct the teacher’s words, if only so he could make sense of his homework assignments.
By law, every child in California has the right to receive English instructional services. But districts reported that one in 50 English learners failed to receive this instruction, leaving thousands upon thousands of students without an essential part of their education.
In January, the ACLU of Southern California sent a letter to state officials demanding that they correct this egregious violation. But rather than fixing the problem, state officials pointed the finger at school districts, hinting that districts may have improperly reported the number of students needing English assistance.
One parent reported, “I don’t trust the school district anymore.” She requested anonymity because she fears retaliation. She added, “They kept us in the dark for so long, and now they refuse to change. We have no other choice but to sue the state to get someone to make sure our children get the services they need.”
California bears fundamental responsibility for the public education of all its students including English learners. The state needs to ensure that next year all children in California have the help they need to understand what goes on in our classrooms.
Jessica Price is Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Southern California

Police department policy manuals are public documents that should be readily available to citizens on municipal websites, pursuant to public document requests, or at the very least at public libraries.
Pasadena Police Department Policy Manual: The ACLU of Southern California Pasadena/Foothills chapter has been monitoring the Pasadena Police Department’s practices on citizen complaints and use of force since 2009. As part of this process, we have met with department chiefs, the city manager and city council members, as well as the Public Safety Committee.
Pasadena’s city manager has continually honored oral requests for public records without formal public record requests. At various times our chapter orally requested for hard copies of the Police Department Manual and for the document’s posting online. In the spring of 2013, pursuant to a formal record request, the department furnished the chapter with a digital copy of its policy manual, which is now posted on our website for public use.
Glendale Police Department Manual: We are also posting the Glendale Police Department’s Policy Manual, which was secured by public records request from the department.
Other Cities in the Pasadena/Foothills Area: We are in the process of submitting public document requests for digital copies of the police department policy manuals from other cities in the area, which have yet to post police department policy manuals on their municipality websites. Once received, they will be available here.
View the manuals below or Download (pdf) the Pasadena Police Dept Policy Manual and the Glendale Police Dept Policy Manual
Public Records Requests are also available to the public: see The First Amendment Project.

Pasadena Police Dept Manual

Glendale Police Dept Manual