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"This form is different from the 'Williams Complaint Form' which is used for complaints regarding school facilities." Not many students that are harassed or discriminated against in schools are aware of their resources and many don't have the chance to read the statement above in the complaint section of the California Department of Education's website.

With an eye towards ending punitive drug policies that have made the United States the world’s largest incarcerator and cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year, Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) on Friday introduced legislation to reduce the penalty for Californians who possess small amounts of drugs for their own personal use. The bill, SB 1506, co-sponsored by the ACLU of California, Drug Policy Alliance, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and the California NAACP, changes the penalty for the simple possession of drugs under state law from a felony, which is punishable by up to three years behind bars, to a misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year behind bars. The reform would help alleviate overcrowding in state prisons and county jails and save the state millions of dollars annually.

James Gilliam, pictured with Judy Shepard (left) and Jane Velez-Mitchell. “I remember those painful years of growing up being bullied and harassed in my home state of Tennessee just because I was gay,” said Gilliam. “No child should have to suffer humiliation or die by his own hand simply because of who he is. I’m proud to direct a project that works to protect LGBTQ students and to serve as an example that they can lead fulfilling, proud lives and not live in fear.” Gilliam has been the deputy executive director of the ACLU/SC since 2010. Before joining the civil liberties organization, he was a litigation associate and pro bono coordinator at Paul Hastings. He served as co-chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Sexual Orientation Bias committee for several years and has served on the board of directors for the National LGBT Bar Association. He teaches seminars on sexual orientation law and public interest law practice at Loyola Law School. “We feel privileged to work with someone as courageous as James, who has dedicated himself to stop bullying and help save the lives of LGBTQ students,” said Hector Villagra, executive director of the ACLU/SC. “James has become a national spokesperson on the issue of bullying, and we are extremely proud that people around the country are looking to the Seth Walsh Student Rights Project and James as a resource for addressing bullying and the fa

Like thousands of other people in 2006, Jose Franco was detained by immigration authorities. Most detainees are either deported to their country of origin or released after winning their right to remain in the United States.

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Community Rights Campaign, Public Counsel, and the ACLU of Southern California applaud today’s decision by the Los Angeles County Education Coordinating Council to endorse the findings and recommendations from the multi-agency Student Attendance Task Force (SATF). The recommendations, which were unanimously endorsed by the SATF’s members, are a step forward for Los Angeles County, because they emphasize connecting students to resources to address the causes of attendance issues – rather than punitive approaches proven ineffective as the primary response to truancy or poor attendance. They call for significant reforms to every county agency that interacts with youth who struggle with attendance, including courts, police, and schools.