|
ACLU Sues Haralson County School District for Violating Free Speech Rights of Employee
| |
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Georgia and the Kendall Law Group, cooperating attorneys for the ACLU of Georgia, filed a lawsuit challenging the unlawful termination of Johnny Cook. Mr. Cook was fired for expressing concerns on his personal Facebook profile that a child was left hungry and denied lunch at school. He joined a national debate focused on the well-being of children and adequacy of school lunch policies. When Mr. Cook refused to allow his voice, thoughts, property, and image to be hijacked, commandeered, censored, and illegally appropriated by the Haralson County school system, he was fired.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution forbids government officials from retaliating against employees who speak out on their own time on important community issues, even if those issues are critical of government practices and policies.
At a press conference held at the ACLU of Georgia on February 27, Cook told the media that his "message was of kids going hungry ... of bringing a matter to light that needed to be brought to light." Cook hopes that his case will have an impact nationwide and that school districts across the country will reevaluate their lunch policies, as well as their policies concerning free speech protections for their employees. The case was filed on February 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
The Complaint is available online here.
|
Crossover Day at the Capitol
|
Monday, March 3, was "Crossover Day" at the Georgia General Assembly. Legislation that fails to pass either the House or Senate by Crossover Day is considered "dead" for the remainder of the year. However, portions of these bills can be "raised from the dead" if they are attached as amendments to bills that did pass either the House or Senate by Crossover.
We are happy to see that some bills failed to pass by this critical deadline.
HB 1023 and SB 377 would have allowed discrimination under the guise of religious freedom. These bills would have undermined federal, state and local civil rights laws that protect us all against discriminatory practices. While the ACLU is a staunch defender of religious freedom, we do not believe that anyone has the right to use their religious beliefs to blatantly discriminate against and undermine the rights of others. We will continue to fight against legislative attempts that use religion to justify discrimination in violation laws that prohibit discrimination.
A pair of anti-immigrant bills, SB 404 and SR 1031, were also defeated. SB 404 would have taken away driver's licenses from grantees of deferred action, including DREAMers granted work permits. SB 404 would be the first and only bill of its kind in the nation, and would make Georgia one of only three states to exclude an entire category of immigrants from its driver's license laws. Along with DREAMers, certain victims of domestic violence and other serious crimes with deferred action status under federal immigration procedures would also be harmed by this bill. When the leadership refused to bring this bill up for a vote, the author of SB 404, Sen. Bill Heath, attempted to attach the bill as an amendment to a completely different bill. Fortunately, a bipartisan group of senators stood up for DREAMers and other immigrants and voted down the amendment. SR 1031 would have amended the Georgia Constitution to declare English the official language of Georgia. Among other consequences, the resolution called for the driver's license exam to be given in English only. By discriminating against those with limited English proficiency, the amendment if passed could be found in violation of regulations issued pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. By violating federal law, the amendment would have exposed Georgia to federal sanctions, specifically withdrawal of federal funds. This unlawful measure was never brought up for a vote. The ACLU of Georgia will remain vigilant and we will continue to fight against anti-immigrant measures in the Georgia legislature.
We were disappointed that a few bills were passed on Crossover Day.
SB 98 would ban insurance coverage for abortion care under plans offered to state employees and plans purchased under the federal healthcare exchange. This is yet another example of the government interfering with the healthcare decisions of women. It would prohibit women from earning health coverage for reproductive healthcare services through their public employer, and it would deny them the ability to purchase health plans that offer these essential services through the healthcare exchange. The ACLU of Georgia believes that women are smart enough to make their own healthcare decisions! Politicians cannot know the circumstances of every pregnancy, and have no place determining what kind of health care a woman in crisis should receive. Many things can happen in a pregnancy; insurance coverage for abortion allows every woman to get the health care she needs. Proponents of the bill claim that it is necessary to ensure that tax money isn't used for abortion services. However, the state employee insurance plan doesn't currently cover abortion services and plans offered on the federal exchange do not allow taxpayer money to be used for abortion care. Thus, the bill is unnecessary and is an ongoing example of our legislature's "War on Women!" We will continue to fight against this bill and any bill that seeks to undermine women's health care needs.
HB 772 would require drug testing for applicants seeking food assistance, and applicants would be required to pay for their own tests. Similar laws have been declared unconstitutional by federal courts in Florida and Michigan. This bill seeks to differentiate itself from the other laws by requiring "reasonable suspicion." However, the factors giving rise to "reasonable suspicion" under this bill are unconstitutionally broad and would be struck down by the courts. Laws requiring drug testing in exchange for public assistance violate our Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures because they require thousands of innocent, law abiding citizens to be tested without adequate, individualized suspicion and probable cause. Drug testing programs do not save money and there is no evidence that individuals on public assistance are more likely to use drugs. Before the Florida law was struck down, the State of Florida wasted tens of thousands of dollars on implementing the program, only to find that less than 3% of applicants tested positive for drugs. This is nothing more than a mean-spirited attempt to stigmatize the poor.
For more information on our legislative agenda, please visit http://www.acluga.org/get-involved/legislative-work/legislative-agenda/. If you would like to receive legislative action alerts, please sign up at http://www.acluga.org/get-involved/action-alerts/
|
|
Don't Miss this Upcoming Event!
|
|
|
Law and Ethics of Intersex Issues & Screening of Intersexion, a Documentary
|  |
ACLU of Georgia opposed two anti-foreign law measures in the Georgia legislature
|
The ACLU of Georgia opposed two measures in the Georgia legislature, HB 895 and SR808, that were in opposition to foreign laws.
These measures would have had a chilling effect on Georgia's economy, harmed domestic relations contracts, violated religious freedom, violated separation of powers, and were unnecessary. They were a fatally flawed solution to a non-existent problem. We are happy to report that neither measure has survived. You can find our comments on HB 895 to members of a subcommittee of the
Georgia House Judiciary (Civil) Committee here.
|
|
ACLU of Georgia attended historic release of School Discipline Guidance by U.S Departments of Education (DOE) and Justice (DOJ)
|
The ACLU of Georgia attended the historic joint release of the School Discipline Guidance by the U.S Departments of Education (DOE) and Justice (DOJ). This long awaited school discipline guidance package is designed to assist states, districts and schools in developing solutions to enhance school climate, and improve school discipline policies and practices while upholding their civil rights.
The event was held at Frederick Douglas High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Frederick Douglas was selected to host the event as it has seen its discipline numbers decrease while increasing a positive school climate. The event included remarks from the Maryland School Board President Dukes, U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan; and U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder. Secretary Duncan noted that the resource package is research based. The four components of the resource package are:
- A Dear Colleague guidance letter describes how schools can meet their legal obligations under federal civil rights law to administer student discipline without discriminating against students on the basis of race, color or national origin;
- a Guiding Principles document draws from emerging research and best practices to describe three key principles and related action steps to improve school climate and school discipline;
- a Directory of Federal School Climate and Discipline Resources indexes the federal technical assistance and other resources on school discipline and climate available to schools and districts;
- a Compendium of School Discipline Laws and Regulations provides a comparison of the various state laws and regulations related to school discipline. To view the resource documents, visit www.ed.gov/school-discipline ; and
- an Overview of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative that outlines ongoing and completed Federal efforts to address issues of school climate and school discipline, which DSC members helped craft.
While the strategies in the various documents are non-binding, civil rights laws are non-negotiable. School systems can still be found non-compliant for disparate impact and different treatment when using the strategies haphazardly.
The vast majority of disciplinary incidents are for non-violent behaviors. Statistical and anecdotal data has shown that students of color and students with disabilities are treated more harshly in the discipline process for the same infractions. According to the American Psychological Association, these punitive, zero-tolerance practices do not improve behavior, but can instead increase the likelihood that students will fall behind academically, have future behavior problems, become withdrawn and dropout of school.
The DOE and DOJ sent a clear signal that school discipline needs to shift from a philosophy that favors harsh punishment and exclusion of children to one grounded in research based child-centered reforms that keep children in school. Secretary Arne Duncan noted, "... the need to rethink and redesign school discipline practices is long overdue. Too many schools resort too quickly to exclusionary discipline, even for minor misbehaviors." We also plan to be actively engaged with DOE and DOJ to discuss enforcement of civil rights laws as it pertains to this school discipline guidance release.
|
|
DREAMers at Emory Law School
| |
ACLU of Georgia's Azadeh Shahshahani looks on as a panel of Georgia's DREAMers at Emory Law School, Yovany Diaz, Eduardo Samaniego, Norma Dimas, and Miriam Kim, discuss their lives and the daily challenges they face.
|
Day of Outrage
Enough is Enough!
| |
On Tuesday, February 25th, the ACLU of Georgia participated in the Day of Outrage Event.
The event was to bring awareness and end practices of profiling and harassment of black and trans individuals and demand solutions that do not criminalize our communities.
|
|
Walk in My Shoes - Hear Our Voice
| |
Georgians Walk in Solidarity around the Georgia State Capitol on February 25th for our health and lives; for freedom, equality, justice and human dignity for all.
Too many politicians openly support a denial of basic health care and the reversal of essential human rights. This has got to stop. We know that efforts to restrict healthcare, reproduction, sexual, and parenting freedoms are often linked to other forms of discrimination which we oppose.
We've reached the tipping point and with the 2014 elections looming, we're here to say: "we won't go back!"
Many organizations came together to support this Walk in Solidarity around the state capitol. Our organizing principle is as follows: We are here to reclaim our voice. We reject bills that do not comply and support bills that do comply with the following principles* for all Georgians:
- to determine when and whether to have children,
- to have a healthy pregnancy and birth;
- to become a parent and parent with dignity, and
- to have safe and healthy relationships and families.
*These principles are the four guidelines from Center for American Progress in their paper "More than a Choice," informed by SisterSong's extensive body of work.
|
|
Politics still makes strange bedfellows
under Gold Dome
| |
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Which of these groups does not belong with the others: the ACLU, the tea party, Common Cause or Americans for Prosperity?
If you think they could all fit in a coalition under the Gold Dome, give yourself a peach-colored star.
This era is known for its polarization in Washington, and Georgians on the left and the right certainly have their differences about how state legislators should address certain issues. But unlike in national politics, diverse coalitions still can and do emerge on high-profile state issues.
The ACLU and Common Cause have reputations as liberal groups, particularly nationally; the tea party and Americans for Prosperity lean solidly to the right. But representatives of those four outfits, along with the libertarian Institute for Justice, are pushing legislators to change Georgia's civil asset forfeiture laws -- which allow law enforcement to confiscate private property without a criminal conviction, or in many cases even a criminal charge.
"These different organizations look through different lenses, but get to the same place regarding citizens' rights to have a day in court ... and protect their property," says Lee McGrath, legislative counsel for the Institute for Justice.
House Bill 1 by Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, would take a first step toward reform by requiring more transparency about assets seized by law enforcement on the -- unproven -- premise it may have been used in the commission of a crime. Eventually, the goal is to move to the North Carolina model, in which a jury can consider seizing property only after a conviction, and only if it was "an instrument [for] or the proceeds of a crime," McGrath says.
Today, there are only anecdotes about some of the citizens who had automobiles, cash and other assets seized without ever being charged with a crime. But based on what we do know, "asset forfeiture practices often go hand-in-hand with racial profiling and disproportionately affect minorities," says Chad Brock, a lobbyist for the ACLU in Georgia.
(It's worth noting Republicans, who are continually told they must improve their minority outreach, have taken the lead on this issue, along with issues such as charter schools and criminal justice reform, of particular benefit to racial minorities.)
This is but the latest example that politics can still make strange bedfellows in Atlanta. Tea partyers, the Sierra Club and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce united last month behind a four-point plan to improve transportation pitched by a new Georgia-based advocacy group, Policy BEST. The first two groups joined with the DeKalb branch of the NAACP -- but against the Georgia Chamber -- on the 2012 T-SPLOST vote.
Common Cause, the tea party, the League of Women Voters and Georgia Conservatives in Action previously pressed legislators to strengthen state ethics laws.
Call it a function of shorter legislative sessions that don't allow for as much animosity-breeding familiarity as Congress experiences. Chalk it up to the relative apolitical nature of the laws in question, though that doesn't explain why other, more controversial issues haven't poisoned the well in Atlanta as they have in Washington.
Whatever the reason, be glad we have at least one level of government that is capable of keeping tribalism out of some of the issues that matter to Georgians.
|
|
Drone Regulation Bills Introduced in Georgia House
|
Two Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation to regulate the use of domestic drones, or unmanned aircraft, in Georgia; however, both bills appear to be stalling in the Legislature this Session. HB 846, introduced by State Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell), would prohibit the capturing of certain images by drones.
According to its caption, the bill would "amend Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the O.C.G.A., relating to invasions of privacy, so as to provide for a definition; to provide for the lawful use of unmanned aircraft; to prohibit the capturing of certain images by unmanned aircraft; to prohibit the possession, disclosure, display, distribution, or other use of such improperly captured images; to provide for penalties; to provide for defenses to prosecution; to restrict the use of such images; to provide for civil actions for violations; to provide for rulemaking authority for the Department of Public Safety for law enforcement use of such unmanned aircraft; to provide for certain reports; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
The bill is "not very restrictive," Rep. Geisinger told Atlanta Progressive News in an interview. House Bill 846 is intended "just for those who would abuse it," he said.
Rep. Geisinger explained that this bill came out of a breakout session at last year's National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL), which he attended, along with 6,000 other legislators from across the country. Two Texas legislators led the workshop, he said. They presented the bill that had been passed in Texas. Rep. Geisinger used the Texas bill as his template for HB 846. "We haven't kept pace with technology in Georgia. If we don't think to the future, we will be doomed to repeat the past," Geisinger said. HB 846 "probably will go to a Study Committee over the summer," Geisinger said. Further study will provide an opportunity to clarify the vague language and to refocus the legislation on the use of unmanned aircraft by law enforcement. The regulation of these new technologies will have far-reaching consequences. "This is just the beginning," Geisinger said. The second bill is HB 848 by State Rep. Stephen Allison (R-Blairsville). Rep. Allison failed to respond to APN's request for an interview. However, Rep. Geisinger did characterize HB 848: "It makes no sense," he opined. The caption of HB 848 reads, to amend the code "relating to lawful flight over lands and waters of this state, so as to provide that no aircraft shall be operated in the airspace above private property, extending from the surface up to a distance of 100 feet above the surface, for the purpose of searching or engaging in surveillance without a search warrant or permission of the property owner, and any evidence obtained by an aircraft within such protected zone shall be inadmissible in the courts of this state; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes." If unmanned drones are prevented from flying below an altitude of one hundred feet, there could be unforeseen consequences for Georgia's agricultural interests. The ability to fly low over a field reduces the drift of toxicants over populated areas, and more controls insect pests in crops in a more cost-effective manner. Geisinger mentioned that Rep. Tom McCall (R-Elberton), Chairman of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, is a proponent of the unrestricted use of unmanned aircraft in agriculture. He believes It is important to maintain Georgia's competitive position. "U.S. law enforcement is greatly expanding its use of domestic drones for surveillance. Rules must be put in place to ensure that we are not brought closer to a 'surveillance society' in which our every move is monitored, tracked, recorded, and scrutinized by the government," Azadeh N. Shahshahani, National Security/Immigrants' Rights Project Director, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Georgia, told APN. "The two pieces of legislation introduced in the Georgia Assembly are well-intentioned, but the language is vague in parts. The legislation would best be focused on law enforcement use of drones rather than general and undefined use of drones, which could affect the First Amendment rights of individuals who would have an interest in using the technology for cultural or academic purposes," she said. "For example, under HB 846, an individual or a travel guidebook could not use a drone to take an aerial photograph of the Atlanta skyline without getting the permission of every building owner whose building appears in the image," she said. According to the NCSL website, last year, in 2013, thirteen U.S. states enacted laws concerning the use of drones. http://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/unmanned-aerial-vehicles.aspx HB 846 and 848 have both been referred to the House Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee.
|
| The ACLU of Georgia National Security/Immigrants' Rights Project is celebrating its fifth anniversary! |
Founded in March 2008, the project works to bring Georgia into compliance with international human rights and U.S. constitutional standards in treatment of refugees and immigrant communities, including those in detention. This project engages ACLU of Georgia staff and volunteers in litigation, legislative advocacy, human rights documentation, coalition-building, public education, attorney training, and community organizing to address a range of issues. Here you can find a few of our accomplishments over the past five years.
Download Brochure
|
Mission Statement
The purpose of this association shall be to advance the cause of civil liberties in Georgia, with emphasis on the rights of free speech, free press, free assembly, freedom of religion, due process of law and to take all legitimate action in the furtherance of such purposes without political partisanship. |
|
|
|
|
| Join Us |
Download a member application form or use Paypal to join more than 6,000 Georgians who contribute to the defense of liberty through their annual ACLU of Georgia membership. | | Contribute | | Please visit www.acluga.org/donate
Your contribution to the ACLU Foundation of Georgia is 100% tax-deductible.
|
| Thank you for helping keep America safe and free! |
 |
|
|
