Community Rights Campaign, Public Counsel, and the ACLU of Southern California applaud and fully support City Councilman Tony Cardenas’ motion to change the daytime curfew law that has proved to be detrimental to students and their families and a failure in preventing crime.

The current daytime curfew law is ineffective, wasteful and unfairly targets students of color.  According to Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles School Police statistics, officers issued more than 47,000 tickets between 2005 through 2009 with 88 percent going to African American and Latino students.  Students who receive curfew tickets must also miss school, sometimes two or three full school days, to attend court hearings, leading to the counterproductive outcome that students cited for being out of school must miss school to resolve the tickets. 

Additionally, most of these children come from low-income families who are forced to make hard choices to not pay for the basics – like food for their family – to pay the hefty fines of $250 or more per ticket.  The fines then accumulate and young people who later graduate are denied driver’s licenses and job opportunities because of outstanding warrants.  Substantial research shows curfew laws do nothing to reduce crime by juveniles.  On the contrary, students who get drawn into the juvenile justice system are four times more likely to drop out of school. 

Cardenas’ motion opens a door of hope for students and families by eliminating the high fine, targeting resources at struggling students, and making common sense changes so that students who are trying to get to school, even if they are running late, are not penalized.  There are many reasons why students are late or absent, including delays with public transportation, family problems, school struggles, illness, or even the need to walk a little brother or sister to school.  With the proposed amendments by the Councilman, students who are trying to get to class and graduate will be given support to do so and not become another statistic lost in the juvenile justice system.  We strongly urge the Los Angeles City Council to pass this motion.

 

 

The ACLU of Southern California (ACLU/SC) is applauding the passage by the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of a resolution that will help combat harassment and bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students.  The “LGBT and Sexual Orientation Anti-Bullying Resolution” is expected to provide a safer school environment for LGBT teens by promoting positive images of LGBT people and including age-appropriate LGBT-related material in the curricula for elementary and secondary students.

James Gilliam, ACLU/SC Deputy Executive Director and Director of the Seth Walsh Students’ Rights Project, testified at the board’s meeting to underscore the importance of this resolution to LGBT students who often find themselves victims of aggressive harassment and bullying. 

“I work daily with mothers who lost their children to suicide,” said Gilliam.  “Years of bullying in classroom, in the hallways, on the bus, in the cafeteria, led those kids to end the torture the only way they saw possible – by taking their own lives.  Studies show that bullying drops the more students know about the contributions of LGBT individuals.  This resolution will have a real impact on the environment on campus.  Something like it might have saved teens like Seth Walsh, Michael Berry, Carl Walker Hoover, and so many others.”

ACLU/SC initiated the Seth Walsh Students’ Rights Project earlier this year, with the goal of stopping bullying and harassment in California schools and creating school communities that promote safety and respect for all students.  The Project is named for 13-year old Seth Walsh, a Tehachapi student who took his own life after years of severe anti-gay bullying and harassment. 

The resolution also reminds staff of their duty to ensure the safety of all students on campus, and to intervene when they witness acts of anti-LGBT harassment.  It mandates the training of all LAUSD staff in the unique concerns of LGBT students, as well as what legal responsibilities educators have to keep them safe.

 

No student trying to visit the website for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) from a school computer should be confronted with a stop sign.  But that's precisely what happened to a student in Virginia, which spurred our "Don’t Filter Me!" campaign.
The L.A. Times is joining the chorus of those who agree that schools shouldn't block access to LGBT organizations' websites. The It Gets Better Project, the GSA Network and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which all carry messages of self-acceptance and support, have all been blocked at various public schools around the country. Meanwhile, some schools permit access to anti-progressive sites that condemn the LGBT community, and encourage the suppression of the myriad LGBT points of view.
Blocking access to potentially vital information from LGBT youth, who may not have another safe space to browse the Internet, is both dangerous and illegal. Our schools should be joining organizations that promote a safe and positive atmosphere for every student -- not participating in discrimination against them.