
News
Our lawyers and advocates are among the nation's leading experts on civil liberties and constitutional freedoms. Read the latest on the ACLU of Northern California’s work. To schedule a press interview, call (415) 621-2493 or contact press@aclunc.org.
Clovis Parents Ask School District to Reject Inadequate Sex Ed Proposal
Jun 12, 2013
Parents are asking the Clovis Unified School District to reject a proposed high school sex education curriculum, saying that it is inadequate and still contains dangerous misinformation about sexual health. The school board is scheduled to vote this evening on whether to adopt or reject the proposed curriculum.
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Bill Supporting Transgender Students Goes to the Senate Floor
Jun 12, 2013
Today, the California Senate Education Committee passed AB 1266 (Ammiano), the School Success and Opportunity Act, a bill that provides crucial support for transgender students, by a vote of 5-2. The bill will ensure that California public schools understand their responsibility for the success and well-being of all students, including transgender students, and will allow transgender students to f...
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Assembly Public Safety Committee Approves Common Sense Drug Sentencing Reform Bill
Jun 11, 2013
The California Assembly’s Committee on Public Safety approved a bill Tuesday that would reform California’s drug sentencing laws for simple possession, significantly reduce incarceration costs for counties and help the state end its ongoing incarceration crisis. S.B. 649, the Local Control in Sentencing Act, authored by Sen. Mark Leno, now moves to the full Assembly for consideration, the final hu...
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California Assembly Passes Important Bill to Expand Abortion Access
May 28, 2013
Today the California Assembly passed AB 154 – the Early Access to Abortion bill – by a vote of 48-24. The bill moves on to the state Senate. Authored by Assembly Majority Leader Toni Atkins, AB 154 would improve abortion access by authorizing nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants to perform early abortions safely within the terms of their licenses.
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ACLU Lawsuit Takes on FBI Surveillance of News Organizations
May 21, 2013
San Francisco – Today the ACLU sued the FBI in a freedom of the press lawsuit on behalf of two editors at a libertarian online magazine. After learning that their Bay Area-based site, Antiwar.com, was the subject of FBI surveillance, Eric Garris and Justin Raimondo sought the documents the government had compiled on both them and the site. After a year, the FBI has failed to produce any ...
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Armed Forces to Submit Plans for Implementing Repeal of Ban on Women in Combat
May 15, 2013
The branches of the armed forces are expected to submit plans to the Department of Defense today describing how they will integrate women into combat positions following the repeal of the ban on women serving in combat units. The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the department last year challenging the combat ban on behalf of the Service Women's Action Network and four women who served in Iraq or Afgh...
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California Makes Historic Leap to Bring Millions into the Democratic Process
May 15, 2013
In a move that leads the nation in reducing barriers and expanding opportunities for voter registration, California’s Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, is designating the state’s new Health Benefit Exchange, Covered California, as a voter registration agency under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). In doing so, Covered California will reach millions of Californians who might not otherwise ...
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Important Voting Rights Bill Clears Assembly Elections Committee
May 07, 2013
A bill that would uphold the constitutional right to vote for people sentenced under realignment was approved today by the California Assembly’s Elections and Redistricting Committee. The bill, A.B. 938, would make clear that all people in county custody retain their right to vote.
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California Senate Approves Common Sense Drug Sentencing Reform Bill
May 02, 2013
SACRAMENTO – The California state Senate today approved a bill that would reform California’s drug sentencing laws for simple possession, significantly reduce incarceration costs for counties and help the state end its ongoing incarceration crisis.S.B. 649, the Local Control in Sentencing Act, authored by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), was approved by the Senate in a 23-14 vote, and moves now t...
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Important Drug Sentencing Reform Bill Clears Senate Public Safety Committee
Apr 23, 2013
A bill that would reform California’s drug sentencing laws for simple possession and significantly reduce incarceration costs for counties cleared an important legislative hurdle Tuesday. SB 649, authored by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), was approved by the Senate Public Safety Committee on a 4-2 vote, and moves now to the full Senate for consideration.
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School Success and Opportunity Act Passes Assembly Education Committee
Apr 17, 2013
Sacramento – The School Success and Opportunity Act (AB 1266), authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, has passed the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 5-2.The School Success and Opportunity Act addresses the exclusion of transgender students from classes and activities, and clarifies existing anti-discrimination law to provide clear protections to transgender students."Today we are one st...
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Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Caltrans Equal Opportunity Program
Apr 16, 2013
A federal appeals court today ruled that the California Department of Transportation’s equal opportunity program for contracting businesses fairly and constitutionally ensures that minority- and women-owned businesses have equal ground to compete for federal contracts.
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