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Youth

All young people must have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in our society.  The ACLU Youth Policy project seeks to ensure that young people – particularly those who have been historically excluded or underserved – receive meaningful education and services in communities, instead of being pushed to a juvenile justice system that will undermine their ability to be successful as adults.  Our current focus is on reforming school discipline policies and practices, working to limit school-based referrals to the juvenile justice system, and decreasing the over-reliance on jails and prisons for young people in the juvenile and adult criminal law systems.

Resources

News Release, Published: 
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Governor Inslee signed into law the Responsible Teen Communications Act (SHB 1742) which protects teenagers from felony prosecution for distribution or possession of child pornography when they make explicit messages and images of themselves (“selfies”) and share them with peers, and invests in evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies.
Published: 
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Read about our 2019 Washington State Legislative Agenda
News Release, Published: 
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Regardless of the federal recommendations, Washington state’s constitution and laws provide additional protections for students and a create a strong mandate for schools to adopt discipline policies that are nondiscriminatory, culturally competent, and provide for every student’s education and safety.
Published: 
Friday, November 30, 2018
We issued a minority report opposing a task force recommendation to fund school police and instead recommend interventions to create a positive school climate and additional student supports.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, September 21, 2018
On Wednesday, September 19th, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided it would hear a case to decide whether the government may deport children who appear in court without a lawyer.
Published: 
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Incarcerating families is not the solution to family separation. We need to keep up the pressure. Want to help? Here’s what you can do

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