By Johanna Kaiser, Development & Communications Associate
We've been sharing a lot of news about our legislative work over the past few weeks, and with good reason. The 2015 General Assembly is wrapping up and decisions about the important civil liberties-related bills are being made. We remain constant presence at the State House and ask our members to do all they can to ensure civil liberties emerge from this session stronger than before. While this is a daunting task, it's not all the ACLU is working on.
We continue to work in the courts to defend the rights not just of those we are representing, but of all Rhode Islanders, as well. We are currently involved in cases to defend the due process rights of individuals detained by immigration officials, the free speech rights of protesters, and the public's right to access public records, just to name a few examples.
We also do a great deal of work behind the scenes to resolve these issues or to conduct research into pressing issues. In the past few months, we have released reports detailing the school-to-prison pipeline, exposing violations of Title IX by public elementary schools, highlighting the persistent racial disparities in school suspensions, and, for the first time, the disparate discipline rates faced by students with disabilities.
Perhaps most importantly, we educate Rhode Islanders of their rights. Whether you want to know your rights when interacting with the police, at school, in the voting booth, or at your office, we provide the information you need to protect your fundamental rights.
While our advocacy work has taken center stage during the homestretch of the legislative session, we want you to know that we are working just as hard outside of the State House and are looking forward to sharing more about that work in the coming weeks and months.
