Rhode Island Affiliate, American Civil Liberties Union
New Publication!
Know Your Rights:
Students and Technology
The Rhode Island ACLU has published a new brochure titled "Know Your Rights: Students and Technology." It answers questions about surrounding social media and students' right to privacy. Check it out!
"There is no organization quite like the ACLU; the ACLU stands alone in its concern for so many of the issues that matter to me, its ability to act on the national, state, and local level, and its multifaceted approach to defending civil liberties. I am proud to be a card-carrying member of the Rhode Island ACLU."
Read Ian's membership story here.
Latest News
Groups Denounce Proposed "Zero Tolerance" Rules for Students
May 15, 2012
Ten organizations have submitted written testimony objecting to proposed Department of Health (DOH) regulations that would reinstate a “zero tolerance” scheme in schools for students possessing any over the counter medications in school without advance written parental authorization.
Rhode Island ACLU Responds to Court Ruling in Death Penalty Case
May 7, 2012
The RI ACLU said today it was “extremely disheartened” by today’s 3-2 decision, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, overturning Governor Lincoln Chafee’s efforts to prevent the institution of federal death penalty charges against Jason Wayne Pleau. The ACLU had filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of the Governor’s position.
Court Upholds Pawtucket’s Allocation of School Fields Against Constitutional Challenge
May 4, 2012
In a decision issued late this afternoon, U.S. District Judge Mary Lisi has rejected claims that the City of Pawtucket has engaged in an unconstitutional practice of giving preferential treatment to parochial schools over public schools in granting permits for the use of city athletics fields. In 2009, the ACLU filed suit on behalf of seven Pawtucket parents and their children, who had complained to the City for years that one public field had been reserved almost exclusively for use by Saint Raphael Academy, a Catholic school, and that public junior high school teams were denied the use of other fields which had often been reserved for the use of private sectarian schools.
RI ACLU Says Latest Statistics Show State's Civil Union Law Remains a "Complete Failure"
May 2, 2012
On the morning of a General Assembly hearing on three separate bills aimed at addressing the inequalities faced by Rhode Island’s same-sex couples, the RI ACLU released statistics today indicating that the state’s “compromise” civil union statute remains “a complete failure.” During the first three months of 2012, the ACLU reported today, only six couples took advantage of the state’s civil union law, which was enacted last year over the strong protests of the state’s gay and lesbian community.
Providence, RI 02903