Archive

Join the math team, take a drug test. That was the rule at the Shasta Union High School District, which enacted a policy requiring students to submit to random drug testing in order to participate in any school-sponsored activities, including choir, the science bowl, and the mock trial team. Mandatory suspicionless school drug testing, an approach promoted with fervor by the Bush Administration, v... Read More

By Jay StanleyACLU National OfficeToday the ACLU won a significant victory in our battle to ensure that cell phones don't become Big Brother tracking devices. Following a four-year fight, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to comply with our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and turn over the names and docket numbers in numerous cases... Read More

The ACLU of Northern California has reached a settlement with the Shasta Union High School District in a lawsuit challenging the district's illegal policy of drug testing students who participate in a variety of school-related activities, without any suspicion of drug use. The settlement comes after two courts – the Shasta Superior Court and the California Court of Appeal – ruled that the district... Read More

The Reader Privacy Act has passed the California legislature with a strong bipartisan vote in both the Senate and Assembly and is now headed to Governor Brown's desk.The Reader Privacy Act is authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), co-sponsored by the ACLU of California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and supported by diverse organizations and companies, from the Consum... Read More

Today, California lawmakers took an important step towards updating reader privacy for the digital age. The California Assembly passed the Reader Privacy Act of 2011 (SB 602) with a strong bipartisan vote of 60-13. The Reader Privacy Act is authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), co-sponsored by the ACLU of California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and supported by di... Read More

Civil Rights Groups Win Major VictoryWhile studying for a doctorate, San Francisco-based engineer Satinder P. Singh chose to specialize in the retrofitting of bridges. He joined a team charged with evaluating the structural soundness of the Bay Area's bridges following the Loma Prieta earthquake. Soon thereafter, Singh was hired as a Caltrans engineer. And in 1999, he founded his own structural en... Read More

Would it surprise you to hear that almost 85% of LGBT students are verbally harassed at school? Or that 40% are physically harassed? Perhaps you've already heard these troubling statistics, and know that when it comes to stopping bullying, "zero tolerance" is the new catchphrase.But contrary to popular belief, zero tolerance anti-bullying policies don't actually improve school safety and can end u... Read More

Today Facebook is rolling out a series of changes to its privacy controls. We reviewed the changes in detail on Tuesday; now here's how you can take advantage of these changes:Turn On "Profile Review" One of the biggest changes to Facebook's privacy controls is the option to review any content you're tagged in (including photos, Places, and more) before that content is fed into your news feed. Yo... Read More

I was raped by a fellow soldier when I was stationed in Korea. I found out I was pregnant as a result of the rape when my commander called me into his office one day to charge me with adultery. A doctor at the medical center had told my commander – but not me – that I was pregnant. I hadn't reported the rape because I was trying to "soldier on" and I didn't trust my chain of command. As it turns o... Read More

Quick quiz: where did a government agency shut down cell service yesterday to disrupt a political protest? You wouldn't expect the answer to be San Francisco, but that's exactly what happened on Aug. 12, 2011. BART blocked cell service on trains and platforms in San Francisco after notifying riders that there might be demonstrations near Civic Center.All over the world people are using mobile devi... Read More