ACLU-NJ News - Student & Youth Rights

Urban Mayors' Association Weighs in on School Funding Formula

Newark - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the Seton Hall Center for Social Justice today submitted a brief on behalf of the New Jersey Urban Mayors' Association in a long-running school funding lawsuit before the New Jersey Supreme Court. The brief challenges the state's changes to its education funding formula, which now places the burden to fund education back on municipalities that cannot afford to adequately fund education on their own. The changes disproportionately harm minorities and poor families, who suffer most from these changes.

"The state is asking struggling municipalities to choose between the future of their communities and the future of their children," said Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith, President of the Urban Mayors' Association. "That is exactly the untenable choice the court sought to prohibit."

In the 1990 case Abbott v. Burke (Abbott II), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the state had failed to provide all students with a "thorough and efficient" education required by the New Jersey Constitution. Because school funding was linked to property taxes, and because many municipalities suffered from "municipal overburden," requiring them to spend a much larger percentage of their taxes on municipal services than wealthier suburban districts, municipal taxes alone could not adequately fund education in those municipalities. The Court then required the state to supplement funding in the most overburdened districts.

However, the state is now trying to change the basic funding structure that has been in place since the Abbott II decision to make overburdened municipalities pay for more education costs themselves. The brief submitted today on behalf of the Urban Mayors' Association explains that the problem of "municipal overburden" still exists just as it did when Abbott II was decided. In fact, the current high rate of home foreclosures and tax abatements in cities has made the burden worse because these circumstances affect property values and property taxes disproportionately in urban areas.

"The communities that are already the most burdened are the ones who will suffer even more from the state's changes," said Emily Goldberg of the Seton Hall Center for Social Justice. "The Abbott districts must spend significantly more than other districts on municipal services like fire and police, while at the same time their property values are lower. Residents of the Abbott districts therefore already pay higher taxes than most other residents in New Jersey."

The ACLU-NJ and Urban Mayor's brief can be found here.

From Pupils to Prisoners

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and Bethany Cares, Incorporated
invite you to attend

From Pupils to Prisoners: Examining the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Featuring a viewing of the short film

The Freedom Files: School-to-Prison Pipeline

and panel discussion with

Junius Williams
Director, Abbott Leadership Institute

Patrice Davis
Director of Criminal Justice, Essex County College

Ras Baraka
Central High School Principal, former
Deputy Mayor and Councilman-at-large

Jeremiah L. Grace
ACLU-NJ Racial Justice Organizer & Moderator

James Harris
NJ NAACP President

Ron Salahuddin
Newark Deputy Mayor and former Director
Essex County Juvenile Detention Center

Wednesday, February 20, 2008
5:30 p.m. - Reception • 6:00 p.m. - Film Viewing • 6:30 p.m. - Panel Discussion

Bethany Baptist Church
275 West Market Street, Newark, New Jersey • (973) 623-8161

The "school-to-prison pipeline," is a disturbing national trend that funnels thousands of children out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice system. Many of these children have profound disadvantages such as living in poverty, having single-parent homes and having learning differences.

Free and Open to the Public

Co-sponsored by

NJ State Conference of the NAACP • People's Organization for Progress Newark Teachers Union
Newark Branch NAACP • Newark Councilwoman Dana Rone
American Friends Service Committee Prison Watch Project
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice • Second Chance Campaign of NJ

For additional information, contact:
Taquan Williams
twilliams@aclu-nj.org or (973) 642-2086

ACLU-NJ and Bar Foundation Release New Students' Rights Handbook

New Brunswick - The American Civil Liberties Union and New Jersey State Bar Foundation announced today the release of a revised and expanded version of their publication, Students' Rights Handbook: A Guide for Public School Students in New Jersey. The handbook, a copy of which is being mailed to every school district in New Jersey, describes student rights when it comes to discipline, religious freedom, privacy, and freedom of expression, among other topics.

"More than thirty years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that students do not 'shed their rights at the schoolhouse gates,'" said Bar Foundation President Mary Ellen Tully. "We've published this guide so that students and their families can better understand what those rights are. As our world changes and the law evolves, we want to keep students and parents current on their constitutional rights in the school environment."

Keeping students and the adults that deal with them informed of students' rights is the goal of the Students' Rights Handbook. Created and written by the ACLU-NJ, the booklet is geared to high school students. The revised copy adds new topics that have developed in New Jersey in recent years, such as bullying and military recruiting. It also updates sections on student drug testing and free speech on the Internet.

"It is critical that students know their rights so that they may fully exercise them and stand up for themselves," said Deborah Jacobs, Executive Director of the ACLU-NJ. "We've found this guide to be an important resource for people - including teachers and administrators - who are concerned about students' rights."

Free copies of the Students' Rights Handbook are available through the New Jersey State Bar Foundation in single copies and bulk orders and can be ordered at http://www.njsbf.org or by calling 1-800-FREE LAW.

School Violates Religious Freedom of Student

NEWARK, N.J. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey filed a lawsuit today against the Newark Public Schools for violating a Muslim student's religious freedom by holding West Side High School's 2006 graduation ceremony in the sanctuary of a Baptist church.

Bilal Shareef, a 2006 graduating senior and honor student who is Muslim, was unable to attend his graduation because the school's decision to hold graduation in a church forced him to choose between missing graduation or violating his religious proscription against entering buildings with religious iconography, such as pictures of God or the cross.

"I worked hard throughout high school to reach the point of graduation, and the school -- by holding graduation in the sanctuary of a church -- denied me the chance to be there with my friends and family for what should have been a happy, once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Shareef.

Prior to 2004, West Side High School held its graduations in secular locations. However, in 2005, the school scheduled graduation in New Hope Baptist Church. At that time, the ACLU-NJ received a complaint from a Muslim parent and contacted the attorney for Newark Public Schools. Upon receiving a letter from the school attorney providing assurances that graduation would not be held in a religious location again, the ACLU-NJ agreed not to sue. The school district attorney, in his letter, stated that "based [on] the legitimate concerns of our student and parent, I will advise District administration to refrain from scheduling events in church locations and make every effort to work with the church to remove or conceal religious symbols for the duration of the ceremony."

However, in 2006, despite this written promise, West Side High School again scheduled its graduation ceremony in New Hope Baptist Church. Moreover, then-Principal Fernard Williams informed students that if they attended a separate religious baccalaureate ceremony at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (a Catholic church), they would receive two additional tickets for family or friends to attend the graduation ceremony.

"Although he tried not to show it, I knew Bilal took it hard," said Ahmad Shareef, Bilal's father. "I am an involved parent and would have been proud to see Bilal walk up to receive his diploma, but I am even more proud that he stood up for our beliefs. Insha'Allah [God-willing], this lawsuit will ensure that students from all religious backgrounds will have their rights and religious beliefs respected."

The lawsuit alleges that the school's actions of awarding benefits to students for attending the Catholic religious ceremony and holding the graduation ceremony in a Baptist church violated the New Jersey Constitution's prohibitions against: showing a preference for certain religious sects over others, compelling people to "attend any place of worship contrary to his faith and judgment" and segregating or discriminating against students "in the public schools, because of [their] religious principles."

"This case is a living example of why the New Jersey Constitution makes it clear that government should neither favor nor discriminate against religious practice," said ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas, who represents the Shareefs. "Schools should not sponsor activities that exclude some students from participation on the basis of religious belief."

The ACLU-NJ has a long track record of supporting the right of individuals to express their religious beliefs and engage in religious practices free from government interference, including recently defending a second-grade student's right to sing a Christian religious song at an after-school talent show, ensuring that jurors who wear religious garb are not removed from jury pools and supporting a student whose public school teacher told the class that they belonged in hell if they did not believe that Jesus died for their sins.

The latest case is captioned Bilal Shareef and Ahmad Shareef v. Newark Public Schools, et al. The case was filed in New Jersey Superior Court in Essex County.

Censorship of Gay Student Is Discriminatory Free Speech Violation

NEWARK, N.J. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey In A Letter Sent Today (237k PDF) called on the Newark Public Schools to rescind last week's decision to censor hundreds of East Side High School yearbooks that included a photo of a male student kissing his boyfriend. The ACLU-NJ advised the school district that its censorship of this photo violates free speech and New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination.

"With so many challenges the Newark Public Schools face in educating their students, what a waste that they took the time to teach a lesson in discrimination and censorship instead of equality and free speech," said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs.

At the direction of Newark Public Schools Superintendent Marion Bolden, school personnel used markers to block out the image of student Andre Jackson and his boyfriend, while allowing photos of heterosexual students kissing to remain. The photo was on a tribute page paid for by Jackson; tribute pages make up about 20 percent of the yearbook, and several others showed heterosexual couples kissing.

The ACLU-NJ called on the school district to immediately re-issue the yearbook to all students with the original photograph in place.

The ACLU-NJ's letter to Superintendent Bolden, sent by Legal Director Ed Barocas, cited numerous cases and grounds on which the schools actions could be challenged, including a recent New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that specifically addressed discrimination against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students. The court ruled that students, including LGBT students, have as much a right to be free from discrimination in their schools as adults have to be free from discrimination in the workplace. The ACLU-NJ had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in that case.

"Treating same-sex couples differently from heterosexual couples not only disregards the fundamental guarantees of the Constitution and the laws of the State of New Jersey but also sends a dangerous message to the student body," Barocas said in the letter. "The message that LGBT students are unacceptable and undeserving serves to justify peer harassment, one of the most serious concerns schools face today."

The ACLU-NJ has addressed similar issues before, including its successful defense of the free speech and equal protection rights of an 11th Grade Student at Bridgeton High School who had been disciplined for wearing a T-shirt that expressed affection for lesbians.