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ACLU Renews Fight to Overturn Law That Denies Financial Aid to Students With Drug Convictions (04/16/2007)
ST. LOUIS, MO -- The American Civil Liberties Union today filed an appeal asking that a federal court be compelled to weigh the full body of evidence in determining the constitutional validity of a provision of the Higher Education Act that denies financial aid to students convicted of a drug offense. The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota dismissed the case last year after refusing to consider significant legislative history demonstrating the law to be unconstitutional.

ACLU Urges House of Representatives to Protect Students’ Fourth Amendment Rights (09/19/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the House of Representatives to protect students’ Fourth Amendment rights and reject a bill granting schools broad authority to search students and their personal belongings. H.R. 5295, the “Student Teacher Safety Act of 2006,” would allow school officials to conduct random, wide-scale searches of students without having any individualized suspicion that a particular student is participating in criminal activity or breaking school rules.

Landmark Settlement Reached in Notorious School Drug Raid Caught on Tape (07/11/2006)
GOOSE CREEK, SC -- The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that a federal court has approved a landmark settlement in its lawsuit challenging police tactics in the high-profile drug raid of Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The settlement includes a consent decree that sets a new standard for students’ rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

ACLU Calls on Department of Education to Halt Enforcement of Law That Refuses Financial Aid to Students With Drug Convictions (05/26/2006)
ABERDEEN, SD - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a motion in federal court seeking an order that would immediately bar the Department of Education from enforcing a provision of the Higher Education Act that denies financial aid to students convicted of a drug offense. The aid elimination penalty has blocked aid to approximately 200,000 would-be students since its enactment in 2000.

Landmark Settlement Reached in Notorious School Drug Raid Caught on Tape (04/07/2006)
GOOSE CREEK, SC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a landmark settlement reached this week in its lawsuit challenging police tactics in the high-profile drug raid of Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The settlement sets a new standard for students’ constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

Making Sense of Student Drug Testing: Why Educators Are Saying No (01/12/2006)
The experts agree, and the evidence is clear! Random drug testing does not reduce drug use among young people. Spending millions on testing students' urine will only destroy relationships between youth and adults. The second edition of this booklet demonstrates the key flaws in random student drug testing and outlines promising alternatives to the invasive and expensive practice.

Caught in the Net: The Impact of Drug Policies on Women and Families (03/15/2005)
In this report, the ACLU, Break the Chains and the Brennan Center for Justice advocate for fair drug laws and policies that adequately take into account the needs of women and their families, and address the root causes of women's involvement with illegal drugs.

SSDP v. Spellings - ACLU Appeal to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (04/16/2007)
ACLU's appeal asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to order the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota to consider the legislative history behind enactment of the Aid Elimination Penalty, a provision of the federal Higher Education Act that denies financial aid to any person convicted of a drug offense. The District Court upheld the Penalty as constitutional, but refused to consider significant historical evidence that shows the provision to violate the U.S. Constitution's Double Jeopardy Clause.

SSDP v. Spellings - ACLU Motion for Preliminary Injunction (05/26/2006)
The ACLU's motion seeking a preliminary injunction barring the Department of Education from enforcing a provision of the Higher Education Act that denies financial aid to students with drug convictions.

Alexander v. Goose Creek - Essential Terms of Settlement (04/07/2006)
Negotiated settlement in Alexander v. Goose Creek, a case where Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina, experienced a SWAT-style drug raid.

Affidavit of Trudy Childs in Uprock v. Tracy (09/23/2005)

Affidavit of Brandon Fullmer in Uprock v. Tracy (09/23/2005)

ACLU Letter to House and Senate Education Leadership on the Higher Education Act (07/07/2008)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-partisan organization with hundreds of thousands of activists and members and 53 affiliates nationwide, we are writing to state once again our strong opposition to the inclusion of the aid elimination penalty (20 U.S.C. 1091(r)) in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). As the reauthorization conference for H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, and S. 1642, the Higher Education Amendments Act, moves forward, we urge that the penalty provision be deleted in the final conference report.

Coalition Sign-On Letter to Congress Urging Opposition to the Higher Education Act Aid Elimination Penalty (02/21/2007)

ACLU Letter to the House of Representatives Urging Opposition to H.R. 5295 Because of Fourth Amendment Infringement (09/18/2006)

Coalition Letter to the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Opposing H.R. 4547 (09/22/2004)

Testimony of Drug Policy Litigation Project Director Graham Boyd Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security on H.R. 5519, the RAVE Act (10/10/2002)

Students for Sensible Drug Policy's Report on the State-by-State Impact of the HEA's Aid Elimination Penalty (04/17/2006)
A report released by the national student organization Students for Sensible Drug Policy. The first-of-its-kind report details the results of the group's Freedom of Information Act request to determine the state-by-state impact of the aid elimination penalty of the Higher Education Act, which denies financial aid to students convicted of a drug offense. The ACLU is challenging the penalty in federal court.

State Law Challenges to Student Drug Testing (11/01/2005)

DEA Must Not Be Allowed to Chill Speech or Shut Down Electronic Music Events (09/11/2003)

Stories from the Racine "Rave Raid" (01/17/2003)

Racine "Rave Raid" (01/17/2003)

Student Drug Testing: Relevant Case Law (10/21/2002)
An index of legal decisions applicable to the issue of student drug testing.

What the Experts Say on Student Drug Testing (03/15/2002)
An index of nationally renowned expert opposition to student drug testing.