News & Commentary
Fixing School Funding for Vulnerable Students in Stockton
Barely a generation ago, California’s schools were the greatest in the nation. Now, the state’s education is abysmal, ranking 49th in the nation on how much it spends on students.
By Laila Fahimuddin
California Counties Say "No" to ICE
While we await much-needed federal immigration reform, dozens of counties are refusing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) requests to detain immigrants in local jails.
By Kiran Savage-Sangwan
Angelica Salceda Advocates for Student Parents' Rights in the Central Valley
Angelica Salceda, an 2013 Equal Justice Works Fellow with the ACLU of Northern California, is helping implement the Pregnant and Parenting Student Project for teen parents to receive the adequate resources they need to succeed in their academics. Read about her important work in the community with Equal Justice Works.
By Angélica Salceda
One Year After Snowden, Local Surveillance Remains Shrouded in Secrecy
One year ago today, whistleblower Edward Snowden confirmed that the NSA was secretly engaged in a massive program of warrantless surveillance of the American people. Since then, the ACLU has worked both in the courts and in Congress to halt the agency’s abuses of power and violations of our constitutional rights. But the NSA isn’t the only agency guilty of dragnet surveillance without oversight. State and local governments have adopted surveillance technology at an astonishing rate, often without the public’s oversight and approval, and in some cases even hiding their use from the courts. Just like the NSA, our state and local agencies need to be transparent and accountable to the people they serve.
By Nicole A. Ozer
Orange Is the New Black is Filmed at a Real Jail Flooded with Sewage
If you think "Orange Is the New Black" shows it all, you're about to find out a disgusting truth. While the women in OITNB face miserable conditions and abuse, it's nothing compared to what real people experience in the jail where they film as well as other jails in Suffolk County, New York.
By Ujala Sehgal
Oakland Unified School District Takes Steps to End School-to-Prison-Pipeline
The Oakland Unified School District last week took the latest in a series of steps aimed at reducing interaction between district students and school district police officers that too often leads to overly-harsh discipline that pushes kids out of school and into the criminal justice system.
By Christopher Bridges
California Supreme Court Rules for Police Transparency
You’ve seen police uniforms on TV. Some have medals, some have stripes, some are blue and some are tan, but they always have a badge, and a little nameplate on the chest bearing the officers name. In California, officers are required by state law to wear that nameplate identifying them. Why? Accountability.
By Peter Bibring
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