Home : Student Rights : Freedom of Expression

NYCLU Says School District Cannot Suspend Students Who Fought Censorship by Reciting Vagina Monologues (03/13/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union today expressed its strong support for three Westchester public high school students who were suspended for saying the word "vagina" during their performance last week of a passage from Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.

Student in Supreme Court Free Speech Case Speaks About Suspension Over "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" Banner (03/02/2007)
NEW YORK - In a teleconference with reporters today, 23-year-old Joseph Frederick spoke publicly for the first time in more than a year about his challenge to a 2002 high school suspension for displaying a sign saying "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" at an off-campus event not sponsored by the school.

ACLU Files Federal Lawsuit On Behalf of Pennsylvania Student Suspended Over Remark (12/19/2006)
PITTSBURGH — The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a former Beaver County student charging that the school district violated the student’s First Amendment rights when it punished him for a single, spontaneous remark he made in response to repeated teasing.

ACLU of New Jersey Applauds Ruling in Favor of Student's Right to Sing "Awesome God" (12/12/2006)
NEWARK, NJ - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today praised a decision by U.S. District Court Judge Freda L. Wolfson protecting the religious expression rights of students. The court held that a Frenchtown Elementary School student had the right to sing the song "Awesome God" at a school talent show. The ACLU of New Jersey submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the student.

ACLU of Rhode Island Files Lawsuit Challenging Ban of High School Yearbook Photo (12/12/2006)
PROVIDENCE, RI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Portsmouth High School senior Patrick Agin, whose planned yearbook photo was rejected by the principal on the grounds that it violates the school district's "zero tolerance" policy for weapons. In the photo, Patrick is dressed in a medieval chain mail coat with a prop sword over his shoulder, representing his long-standing interest in medieval history.

ACLU of Florida Says Veterans for Peace to Be Granted Equal Access With Military Recruiters in Pinellas County Schools (07/17/2006)
LARGO, FL – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida announced today that the Pinellas School District has agreed to allow Veterans for Peace the same access to students that military recruiters receive, for the purpose of presenting alternative career information.

In Landmark Florida Case, ACLU Preserves Right of Students Not to Recite Pledge (06/01/2006)
WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today applauded a district court ruling striking down a state law requiring students to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge will continue to be recited in public school classrooms, but the unconstitutional practice of forcing all students to stand and recite the pledge will be halted.

ACLU of Ohio Successfully Defends Student’s Free Speech (04/27/2006)
HOLLAND, OH -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today applauded a decision by the Springfield School Board to reinstate eighth-grade student Jessica Schoch. Schoch was not allowed to attend school or participate in extracurricular activities after school officials discovered a MySpace.com profile that parodied a school administrator.

ACLU of Virginia Seeks Guarantee of Student Free Speech in Prince William Schools (04/24/2006)
RICHMOND, VA– The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today said it has asked the Prince William County Schools to make an unambiguous statement guaranteeing free speech rights for students and to ensure fair treatment for students who wear message-bearing T-shirts. The request comes in the wake of the controversial punishment last month of two Occoquan Elementary School students – ages 5 and 8 -- for wearing T-shirts to school proclaiming “Latinos Forever.”

ACLU of San Diego Defends 15-Year-Old High School Honors Student Disciplined for Wearing an American Flag in Her Back Pocket (04/13/2006)
SAN DIEGO -- Fallbrook Union High School officials violated the First Amendment when they ordered 15-year-old honors student Malia Fontana to remove the small American flag she was carrying in her back pocket, the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties said in a letter delivered to the school today.

ACLU Announces Winners of Second Annual Stand Up for Freedom Contest: 3,500 Young People Get Creative About Defending Civil Liberties (03/15/2006)
NEW YORK – Completing a key phase of their yearlong campaign aimed at inspiring young Americans to defend civil liberties, the American Civil Liberties Union today announced the winners of the second annual Stand Up for Freedom Contest. Launched on July 4th, 2005, the competition challenged young people across the country to get creative about defending their rights by producing a TV public service announcement (PSA) or writing an essay on today’s pressing civil liberties issues.

ACLU Calls on Public Schools Across Maryland to Protect Students’ First Amendment Rights (11/29/2005)
BALTIMORE -- Acting on behalf of public school students who have been harassed or punished for declining to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland is calling on school officials to take action to ensure that teachers and administrators understand the First Amendment rights of students.

ACLU Sues Pennsylvania School District Over Expulsion of Middle School Rapper for Songs Written at Home (08/03/2005)
PITTSBURGH-The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a 14-year-old rap artist and his parents charging that the Riverside Beaver School District violated the student's First Amendment free speech rights by expelling the boy for rap music he wrote at home and posted on the Internet.

West Virginia School Officials Violated Student's Rights By Punishing Him Over a T-Shirt, Court Rules (06/01/2005)
CHARLESTON, WV -- A federal court today found that school officials violated a high school student's rights when they disciplined him for wearing a t-shirt bearing an image of the Confederate flag. The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia.

Iowa Civil Liberties Union Defends Right of Students to Wear Anti-Abortion T-Shirts (04/29/2005)
DES MOINES -- The Iowa Civil Liberties Union today blasted school officials for threatening to punish two teenage girls who wore anti-abortion T-shirts to school. The group also offered to assist the students in their quest to continue wearing the shirts at school.

After ACLU Intervention on Behalf of Student Wearing Anti-Bush T-shirt, Broward School Board Agrees to Amend Code of Conduct (04/22/2005)
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- A local school board has agreed to rewrite school policy to give students greater protection under the First Amendment, after the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida's Broward Chapter stepped in to defend a student's right to wear an anti-Bush t-shirt.

Judges Rule High School Strip Searches Unconstitutional in ACLU of Michigan Lawsuit (04/04/2005)
DETROIT - In a victory for student rights, a panel of federal judges ruled today that a strip search conducted on more than 20 students at Whitmore Lake High School was unconstitutional.

ACLU of New Jersey Wins Free Speech Victory for 8th Grade Webmaster (04/03/2005)
NEWARK, NJ -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey announced today that the U.S. District Court has ruled in favor of free speech for students, finding Oceanport school officials liable for violating the rights of an eighth-grade student by punishing him for creating a website on his home computer that included student comments criticizing the school.

Under Threat of ACLU Lawsuit, Providence School Readmits Student Suspended For Photographing Principal (03/23/2005)
PROVIDENCE, RI-Under pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, administrators at Central High School today agreed to allow sophomore Eliazar Velasquez to return to school after suspending him for posting photographs of the school principal on a personal Web site. The photographs depicted principal Elaine Almagno smoking a cigarette on school grounds, in direct violation of state law.

ACLU Teams up with Lewis Black to Encourage Students and Young People to Defend Civil Liberties (01/28/2005)
The American Civil Liberties Union is sponsoring Lewis Black's sold-out show tomorrow at San Francisco's historic Warfield Theater to encourage students and young people to take a stand in defending their civil liberties. The show is the latest endeavor in the ACLU's youth outreach initiative.