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.
Five Law School Deans, 46 Profs Urge Gov. Brown on TRUST Act
Aug 19, 2013
Today, 51 leading legal scholars issued a detailed letter to California Governor Jerry Brown regarding the TRUST Act, a bill that seeks to limit deportations and rebuild community confidence in law enforcement.In the letter, the experts urge the Governor to uphold a key feature of the bill as currently written by ensuring that prior brushes with the nation's broken immigration system do not cause ...
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Governor Brown Signs Historic Transgender Students Bill into Law
Aug 12, 2013
On Aug. 12, 2013, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the historic School Success and Opportunity Act into law, ensuring transgender youth have the opportunity to fully participate and succeed in schools across the state. Assembly Bill 1266—which goes into effect on January 1, 2014—was authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and passed the California State Senate and Assembly earlier this summer. Th...
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Parents and Physicians Launch New Challenge in Sex Education Lawsuit
Aug 08, 2013
Today parents and physicians filed an update to the lawsuit against Clovis Unified School District, seeking permission from the court to add new information about how the district’s revised sex education is still out of compliance with California law. Last August the plaintiffs sued the district for violating the state’s comprehensive sex education law. The lawsuit was brought by two parents in th...
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Summer 2013 ACLU News
Jul 18, 2013
Download the Summer 2013 ACLU of Northern California Newsletter and read about our latest events and initiatives.
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Tentative Settlement Reached with Oakland in ACLU, National Lawyers Guild Lawsuit Against Oakland Police Department for Use of Excessive Force
Jul 03, 2013
Oakland city officials yesterday announced that the City Council had taken initial steps toward approving a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the National Lawyers Guild against the City of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department (OPD) for use of excessive force against Occupy Oakland Protestors in October and November 2011.
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California Senate Passes Bill Supporting Transgender Student Success
Jul 03, 2013
The California State Senate Wednesday passed the School Success and Opportunity Act (Assembly Bill 1266), sending the bill that ensures transgender students have the opportunity to succeed in school to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. Authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), the bill passed the Senate with a 21-9 vote (unofficial). The bill passed the California State Assembly ...
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Military Releases Plans for Integrating Women into Combat Positions
Jun 18, 2013
The Pentagon revealed plans today that will allow women to move into select combat positions following the repeal of the ban on women serving in combat units. Women will be able to start training for certain positions as soon as next month and will be required to meet the same physical and mental standards as men.
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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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