LOS ANGELES - In response to concerns voiced by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the Claremont Unified High School District has agreed not to pat- down students and conduct "breath searches" at school graduation ceremonies without reasonable suspicion that a particular student has violated applicable law or school rules.

As first reported in the Claremont Courier on June 27, 2001, Claremont High School teachers performed pat-down searches of students before they were allowed to enter a baseball field where their graduation ceremony was to take place.

Soon after learning about the reported searches, the ACLU/SC sent the district a letter calling for an end to the policy of searching students without reasonable suspicion, explaining that such searches are in clear violation of students' Fourth Amendment rights. In response to the ACLU/SC's letter, the district agreed that students will not be searched without reasonable suspicion. Today, the ACLU/SC sent the district's counsel a letter saying that, in light of the district's assurances, litigation should not be necessary unless there are future violations of students' rights.

"We are pleased that the district has given assurances that it will respect students' constitutional rights and that it will not conduct blanket searches of graduating students," said Dan Tokaji, staff attorney for the ACLU/SC. "Students who have worked hard to graduate should not have their rights violated simply because the school has a hunch that a few of them may be under the influence of alcohol. The ACLU/SC will remain vigilant in making sure the district abides by its promise to end indiscriminate searches."

A copy of the ACLU/SC's letter to the Claremont High School District follows this release.

"A few bad apples should not be allowed to taint the experience of graduation day for the rest of the student body," said ACLU/SC board member Glenn A. Goodwin who resides in the Claremont area. "Graduation day should be about proud parents and students celebrating and ejoying the highest academic achievement of these students' young lives not about administering pat-down searches and breath searching students who may have never had a drop of alcohol in their lives."

LOS ANGELES -- A California Supreme Court has granted the motion for class certification in the Williams vs. California suit. The decision allows thousands of California public school students to be represented as a whole in a suit against the state of California.

Williams vs. California, the historic class-action lawsuit brought by the ACLU and other civil rights organizations and private law firms, was filed on behalf of all California public school students who lack essentials required for an opportunity to learn. The lawsuit charges the state with having reneged on its constitutional obligation to provide students with the bare essentials necessary for education. The suit also charges California with having violated state and federal requirements that equal access to public education be provided without regard to race, color, or national origin.

"This is a victory for public school students throughout the state," said Mark Rosenbaum, Legal Director for the ACLU/SC. "Now that the court has seen it fit to grant class certification we can work on setting up a system to identify and correct deficiencies in the California public schools and to end the statewide system of have and have-not schools. The court's decision confirms that this is a case of statewide dimensions requiring statewide solutions."

The issue of class certification was one of the central battles in the Williams case. The order to grant class certification represents a major setback for the state of California. It is unclear exactly how many students the order will affect because the state does not have a system in place to monitor and correct problems involving the public schools. The state of California has also filed a counter suit against it's own school districts, demanding that they be held responsible for fixing problems in their own schools.

"Another school year has begun," stated Rosenbaum, "and the state of California still has no idea which students lack textbooks, qualified teachers and even classroom seats. As the state demands accountability from students, parents and teachers, it must be accountable too for failing to provide all children with the bare necessities of equal education."

By law the state of California is obligated to provide its students with at least the bare essentials necessary for the education of all students. Many of the plaintiffs in the Williams case cited a lack of textbooks, no access to a library, chronically unfilled teacher vacancies, lack of sanitary toilet facilities and vermin infestations among other conditions that were common at their respective schools.

The suit is brought by the ACLU affiliates of California, Morrison & Foerster LLP, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Public Advocates, Inc., Center for Law in the Public Interest, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Professors Karl Manheim and Alan Ides, Peter Edelman of the Georgetown University Law Center, and Robert Myers of Newman. Aronson. Vanaman.

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California announced today that broad, diverse coalitions at the national and local levels are emerging to advocate for a careful, balanced, and deliberative approach to questions of security and civil liberties and civil rights.

"We're just as concerned with security as anyone else," said Ramona Ripston, Executive Director of the ACLU of Southern California. "In fact, our national organization strongly supports a comprehensive airport security plan. But we must not blindly support everything with the label 'anti-terrorism' or 'security' on it. Too many of the proposals on the table curtail civil liberties without enhancing security."

National organizations of every political stripe released a 10-point statement of principles demonstrating their solidarity with the nation and its leaders and offering guidance for the preservation of freedom and civil liberties in the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon, and the hijacking crash in Western Pennsylvania.

The national coalition unveiled in Washington today included a broad array of civil liberties, civil rights, ethnic, religious, privacy, and government watchdog groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Tax Reform, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Council of American-Islamic Relations, and around 100 other groups.

At a local level, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California is working in coalition with other groups, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles and the Muslim Public Affairs Council, to coordinate local groups' responses to discrimination, harassment, and threats targeting immigrants generally and, in particular, Southern Californians who are Muslim or are of Arab, South Asian, Northern African, and Middle Eastern descent. The ACLU/SC has set up a hotline to receive complaints related to discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or religion during this time of national crisis. That number, 213/977-5291, began receiving calls within an hour after being established.

"During this horrible period in our country, the Muslim and Arab-American communities find themselves in a difficult position as we contemplate how our nation should transition into the 'post attack' period," said Sarah Eltantawi, Communications Director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, "On the one hand, Arab-Americans and Muslims are in full co-operation with authorities in the effort to bring the perpetrators to justice. But on the other hand, Muslims and Arab- Americans, who have historically been the victims of profiling based on race and/or religion, know how quickly civil liberties can erode when profiling is allowed on any level. Therefore the Muslim and Arab-American communities call on our fellow Americans to vigilantly protect the civil liberties of all of its citizens. Anything less would erode the fundamental values of America that we all love and agree we should defend."

"We ask all readers and viewers to refrain from condemning entire groups for the acts of individual extremists," said Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. "We are concerned about hate incidents and crimes committed against individuals that appear to be Middle Eastern or foreign born. The horror of what happened will only be made worse if, in the aftermath, more innocent people are harmed in retaliation."

"We ask Congress to refrain from supporting any type of legislation that would infringe on the Constitutional rights and civil liberties of all those residing within U.S. borders," said Salas. "Entire groups must not suffer the consequences of the acts of individual extremists. Immigrants and refugees believe deeply in the ideals of democracy, liberty and justice that America stands for and have often risked death to become part of the American family. This tragedy is a horrifying example of why immigrants and refugees seek safety within the United States, in order to escape from the same kind of terrorism."

"It's critical at this time that we come together here in Southern California, home to the largest Arab American community in the nation, to affirm our values of fairness, inclusion, and strong Constitutional rights," said Ripston.

The following is the text of the national coalition's statement:

In Defense of Freedom at a Time of Crisis

1. On September 11, 2001 thousands of people lost their lives in a brutal assault on the American people and the American form of government. We mourn the loss of these innocent lives and insist that those who perpetrated these acts be held accountable.

2. This tragedy requires all Americans to examine carefully the steps our country may now take to reduce the risk of future terrorist attacks.

3. We need to consider proposals calmly and deliberately with a determination not to erode the liberties and freedoms that are at the core of the American way of life.

4. We need to ensure that actions by our government uphold the principles of a democratic society, accountable government and international law, and that all decisions are taken in a manner consistent with the Constitution.

5. We can, as we have in the past, in times of war and of peace, reconcile the requirements of security with the demands of liberty.

6. We should resist the temptation to enact proposals in the mistaken belief that anything that may be called anti-terrorist will necessarily provide greater security.

7. We should resist efforts to target people because of their race, religion, ethnic background or appearance, including immigrants in general, Arab Americans and Muslims.

8. We affirm the right of peaceful dissent, protected by the First Amendment, now, when it is most at risk.

9. We should applaud our political leaders in the days ahead who have the courage to say that our freedoms should not be limited.

10. We must have faith in our democratic system and our Constitution, and in our ability to protect at the same time both the freedom and the security of all Americans.