News & Commentary

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit on behalf of a 13-year-old Black honors student who was handcuffed and arrested by a Pawtucket school resource officer who wanted to "make an example" of her.

ACLU of RI executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement today in response the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District:

In an important victory for female student athletes, a federal appeals court today unanimously affirmed approval of a settlement agreement between Brown University and a class of women student-athletes at Brown which resolved a class-action court challenge to Brown’s decision in June 2020 to cut women’s teams from its varsity athletics program.  The court action, filed last June by cooperating attorneys from Public Justice and the ACLU of Rhode Island and two private law firms, alleged that the cuts violated a 1998 consent agreement that the University entered to comply with Title IX, the federal law that guarantees equal access to athletic programs for female athletes.

RILS and the ACLU of RI have filed a brief in R.I. Superior Court seeking to overturn a decision issued last year by the Council of Elementary and Secondary Education that the groups claim violate the rights of English Language Learners.

RI Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green has ruled that the N. Kingstown school district could not ban students from in-school learning because their parents had let them attend school while their father was waiting for his COVID test results.

A federal court gave final approval to a settlement agreement between Brown University and athletes resolving the class-action legal challenge to the school's decision to cut women’s teams from its varsity athletics program.

A federal court has preliminarily approved a settlement agreement between Brown University and lawyers representing student-athletes who brought a class-action lawsuit after the school cut several varsity women's athletics teams.

We released a report which highlights the alarming lack of privacy protections afforded students who use school-loaned laptops. Our report calls for the adoption of laws and policies at the state and local level to address this concerning violation of student privacy rights.

A proposed settlement has been reached in the class action lawsuit against Brown University. The suit was filed following cuts to the varsity athletics program which undermined gender equality at the school.