Resources

California state law specifically protects students’ right to wear “traditional tribal regalia or recognized objects of religious or cultural significance as an adornment at school graduation ceremonies.” In addition, state and federal civil rights laws protect student rights to expressive and religious conduct, and freedom of expression as a student. Students have the right to […]

All across California, charter schools are implementing admissions policies that exclude students from enrolling. Like other public schools, charters must admit all students who wish to attend. By law, they may not discourage certain students from enrolling based on income, national origin, academic performance or other factors. These admission policies threaten to turn public schooling into a

In 2019, youth leaders at Gente Organizada discovered that their school district was illegally spending funds reserved for foster youth, English learners, and low-income students (“high-need students”) on school police and security. Outraged, the students organized and ran a campaign to stop it. After months of advocacy, they ultimately convinced their district to stop spending

The U.S. Department of Education recently required every public school to report the number of social workers, nurses, and psychologists employed for the first time in history. Data about school counselors had been required previously, but this report provides the first state-level student-to-staff ratio comparison for these other school-based mental health personnel, along with school

A disturbing trend has emerged in California — police officers are stationed in schools and are replacing educators as disciplinarians for minor offenses and student behavior issues. Further, on-campus policing often results in over-criminalizing students—mostly low-income students of color — and pushes affected students out of the educational environment and into the school-to-prison pipeline. This

“Here to Learn” provides a full analysis of LAUSD’s mandatory metal detector search policy. This analysis is based on a comprehensive review of LAUSD metal detection search logs produced in response to a Public Records Act (PRA) request for any entries containing weapons in the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years by researchers at UCLA’s Civil

Schools in California and across the country continue to limit student expression and the punishments for speaking up are often applied discriminately. Particularly concerning are incidents of schools restricting the speech of Black students who express support for Black lives and the Black Lives Matter movement. The good news is that the U.S. and California

This report examines student wellness and access to school-based mental health support throughout multiple years of the pandemic. Student mental health is highly connected to student success and well-being. Findings from the surveys indicate students are experiencing a host of mental health issues, including but not limited to an increase in social anxiety, panic attacks,