The School Board of Lake County and Florida education officials have reversed their decision to restrict access to the popular children's book "And Tango Makes Three" due to the "Don't Say Gay" law. The law, which was challenged by the ACLU and other advocacy groups, has been found to violate students' First Amendment rights. The book is now available to students in Lake County schools, and its message of acceptance and inclusion is one that should be shared with all children.
Posts tagged as “the American Civil Liberties Union”
The Florida Department of Education has effectively banned the teaching of Advanced Placement Psychology in the state, instructing superintendents to exclude any mention of topics such as sexual orientation and gender identity. This ban has been met with criticism from many, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the National Center for Transgender Equality, who have both released statements condemning the ban. The College Board has expressed sadness at the decision and will continue to advocate for access to a full and comprehensive education for all students.
A transgender former student has filed a lawsuit against the Platte County R-3 School District in Missouri, alleging that the district violated their rights by forcing them to use the boys' bathrooms or the school's single-stall gender-neutral bathroom. The ACLU is seeking a court order to stop the school district from enforcing its policy, as well as damages for the former student, arguing that the policy is a violation of Title IX. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges to school policies that require transgender students to use bathrooms that do not match their gender identity.
House Democrats have introduced the End Solitary Confinement Act, a bill that would limit the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons, jails and detention centers, with exceptions for sleeping, medical quarantine, and deescalating emergencies. It would also ensure incarcerated people access to 14 hours of daily time out of their cells, including 7 hours of programming. The bill has been endorsed by the ACLU, NAACP, and NAMI, and seeks to reduce the number of people currently in solitary confinement in the US.
A federal appeals court has temporarily reversed a lower court ruling that found Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth unconstitutional, allowing the state to enforce the ban for now. The decision has been met with criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates, who argue that the ban is unconstitutional and puts transgender youth at risk of harm. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has said it will continue to fight the ban in court, and advocates will continue to fight for the rights of transgender youth to access the gender-affirming care they need.
Federal judges in Kentucky and Tennessee have temporarily blocked portions of bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, just days before the statutes were set to go into effect. The rulings blocked portions of the law in Kentucky that would have banned transgender youth from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapy, and in Tennessee, stopped short of blocking the ban gender-affirming surgeries for youth. The rulings are seen as a victory for transgender rights advocates, and set a precedent for other states considering similar bans.
A federal judge in Florida has ruled that the state's restrictions on Medicaid coverage for gender dysphoria treatments are invalid and violate federal laws, striking down a health code rule and a new state law. The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Florida, and the Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of four transgender people and the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Judge Hinkle said the laws violated federal laws on Medicaid, equal protection and the Affordable Care Act's prohibition of sex discrimination, and noted that the state had not provided any evidence that the treatments were medically unnecessary or posed a risk to the health of patients.
A federal judge in Arkansas has struck down the state's first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children, ruling it unconstitutional. The ruling, which noted that the law would have caused "irreparable harm" to transgender youth, is being seen as a victory for transgender rights advocates and is likely to have implications for other states considering similar bans. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the plaintiffs in the case, said the ruling was a "victory for transgender youth and their families."