ACLU SoCal Education Attorneys Receive Daily Journal's 2025 California Lawyer of the Year Award

The CLAY Awards honor outstanding lawyers and legal achievements in California over the past year. 

Placeholder image

Beyond the classroom: how students sued California for almost $1 billion and won

Meet Eliezer "Eli" Williams, the named student in Williams v. California, a landmark education equity lawsuit.

By Eliezer "Eli" Williams

Placeholder image

Even in COVID, student mental health is still not a priority

Governor Newsom should fund student mental health.

By Catherine Estrada

LAUSD student Catherine Estrada attends a rally with mask on

Yes on 15 is yes on racial justice

Let’s get one thing clear: property taxes are a race issue.

By  Zaid Diaz-Arias

Zaid Diaz-Arias

Banning My “Phenomenally Black” Shirt Is Only a Symptom of the Racism in Bakersfield Schools

I was told by the Greenfield Unified School District that I could not wear a t-shirt with the words “Phenomenally Black” because they said it was the same thing as wearing a “Make America Great Again” shirt. A Black colleague then later told me the administration asked if I was trying to push a Black agenda on campus. And yet when I wore a “Phenomenally Woman” shirt, there was no issue.

By Kei Jackson

Kei Jackson

Defund Los Angeles School Police

Processing the deaths of people who look like us and those we love has been difficult for Black people across the country, especially students with limited agency. But our power is growing. Young people across the country have taken to the streets demanding to live in an America that values their lives, their ambitions, and their hopes.

Tyler Okeke, former LAUSD student and 2018-19 LAUSD student member of the board, where he represented the policy interests of the district's more than 600,000 students.

Social Distancing Should Not Mean Student Push Out

Almost all schools in the U.S. have closed their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Educators and policymakers have largely focused on finding solutions for providing instruction remotely, access to essential technology, meals to families, counseling services, special education services, and all of

By Victor Leung, Oscar Lopez, Harold Jordan

Two post-it notes on a window, the first reads: Sorry we are closed, the second reads: COVID-19

When Kicking Around an Orange Gets You On Probation

By Andrew M., Plaintiff in SBX V. County of Riverside I was in 8th grade when it happened. I’ll never forget the feeling of those cold, clanky pairs of metal constraints. I was being handcuffed in front of my friends and classmates.

An orange on the ground

This County Criminalized Students for Bad Grades – Until Now

Since 2001, the Riverside County probation department has been needlessly funneling young people struggling with grades, behavior, trauma, and mental health into the criminal justice system. This direct line to the criminal system is the product of a partnership between local school districts and

By Sarah Hinger, Sylvia Torres-Guillén

Six youth and an adult sitting in a classroom with their desks forming a semi-circle. Three of the youth have their hands raised.