vol. 62, no. 1

Woutume LXIili

NEWSPAPER OF THE AMERICAN Civil LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN GALIFORNIA

aclu news

Non-Profit

Organization

US Postage

PAID

Permit No. 4424

San Francisco, CA

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1998

The Danger in the Unz Initiative

Why the ACLU Opposes the Threat to Bilmisual Education

measure on the June ballot to end

Aina education in California,

uthored by Ron Unz, a Silicon Valley

millionaire who has publicly admitted that

he has never stepped foot in a bilingual edu-

cation classroom, would jeopardize teach-

ers who assist students in their home

language and deny an equal education to

more than a million school children.

The so-called Unz initiative, would sub-

ject over one million students - all at once

next September - to an untested scheme:

children of all ages and all language back-

grounds, would be put in a single classroom

all day for one year with a teacher who

would be prohibited by law - and under

threat of a lawsuit - from teaching any of

them in their own language.

Among those who lose from the Unz ini- |

tiative are:

Parents - because it eliminates their

right to choose. If parents do not want their

child in a classroom with students of all ages

whose only common denominator is a lack

of English proficiency, they will have to pur-

sue an arduous waiver procedure:

month, they must petition the teacher, the

principal and the district superintendent

for achange;

Teachers - because they know the

educational needs of their students cannot

be met by this "one-size-fits-all" approach to

education and because they can be sued if |

chapter meet-

ley hedules, opinion

_ pieces, and background

turin

California's cutting-edge

civil liberties issues!

after |

their child has been in the classroom for a |

they provide what they consider the most

appropriate assistance to their students;

Local School Boards - because every

community should have the right to deter-

mine education policy at a local level;

Students - because this measure hurts

children who will be segregated and ware-

housed as new English learners regardless

of language, age, or grade level.

The ACLU-NC Board of Directors voted

to actively oppose the Unz Initiative. Here

are some of the special concerns of civil lib-

erties advocates:

The measure would harm the educa-

tional opportunities of immigrant chil-

dren. The most comprehensive study of

bilingual education by the National

Research Council shows that children learn

best (English as well as other subjects) in

longer-term transitional bilingual education

programs where students make a gradual

transition into all-English courses over sev-

eral years.

For students who do not successfully

acquire English within the short time frame

| prescribed the by the initiative, the imposi-

tion of an English-only education means

they will effectively lose out on meaning-

ful instruction in math, science, history

and all their other subjects. As the U.S.

Supreme Court states in Law v. Nichols,

"students who do not understand English

are effectively foreclosed from any mean-

ingful education."

The Unz initiative discriminates

against language minorities and immi-

grants and has a disproportionate

impact on racial minorities. The law

Continued on page 5

See inside page 3

Bill of Rights Honors

Marshall Krause (1. to r.) presents Frank Wilkinson with the Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award at the 1997 Bull of Rights Day

Celebration as ACLU-NC Chair Dick Grosboll (partially hidden) and Executive Director Dorothy Ehrlich applaud.

Ric ROCAMORA

ACLU-NC Board Elections,

he following have been elected to

[se on the Board of Directors

of the ACLU-NC. They will serve

three year terms beginning in January,

1998. [An ACLUN_1981.MODS ACLUN_1981.batch ACLUN_1982 ACLUN_1982.MODS ACLUN_1982.batch ACLUN_1983 ACLUN_1983.MODS ACLUN_1984 ACLUN_1984.MODS ACLUN_1984.batch ACLUN_1985 ACLUN_1985.MODS ACLUN_1985.batch ACLUN_1986 ACLUN_1986.MODS ACLUN_1986.batch ACLUN_1987 ACLUN_1987.MODS ACLUN_1987.batch ACLUN_1988 ACLUN_1988.MODS ACLUN_1988.batch ACLUN_1989 ACLUN_1989.MODS ACLUN_1989.batch ACLUN_1990 ACLUN_1990.MODS ACLUN_1990.batch ACLUN_1991 ACLUN_1991.MODS ACLUN_1991.batch ACLUN_1992 ACLUN_1992.MODS ACLUN_1992.batch ACLUN_1993 ACLUN_1993.MODS ACLUN_1993.batch ACLUN_1994 ACLUN_1994.MODS ACLUN_1994.batch ACLUN_1995 ACLUN_1995.MODS ACLUN_1995.batch ACLUN_1996 ACLUN_1996.MODS ACLUN_1996.batch ACLUN_1997 ACLUN_1997.MODS ACLUN_1997.batch ACLUN_1998 ACLUN_1998.MODS ACLUN_1998.batch ACLUN_1999 ACLUN_1999.MODS ACLUN_ladd ACLUN_ladd.MODS add-tei.sh create-bags.sh create-manuscript-bags.sh create-manuscript-batch.sh fits.log denotes an incumbent. |

*Quinn Delaney, Dan Geiger, *Marina

Hsieh, *Martha Jimenez, Steve Mayer,

Margaret Russell, *David Salniker,

John Streeter, Fran Strauss, and

Ted Wang. -

In addition, Erica Teasley has been

appointed to fill an interim vacancy on the

Board. Teasley, a litigation associate at

Steefel, Levitt and Weiss in San Francisco,

served as Northern California Campaign

Coordinator for the Campaign to Defeat 209.

A graduate of Hastings Law School, Teasley

spent three years in Washington D.C. as a

National Reps

Legislative Assistant to Congressman Julian

C. Dixon and volunteered for several political

campaigns, including Harvey Gantt for U.S.

Senate.

New BoAarD OFFICERS

The following have been elected as the

new officers of the ACLU-NC Board of

`Directors: Dick Grosboll, Chair; Quinn

Delaney, Vice-Chair and Chair of the

Development Committee; Margaret

Russell, Vice-Chair and Chair of

Legislative Policy Committee; Ethan

Schulman, Vice-Chair and Chair of Legal

Committee; Mickey Welsh, Vice-Chair and

Chair of Field Committee; and Nancy

Pemberton, Treasurer. They will serve on

the Executive Committee along with

Milton Estes, David Oppenheimer,

Beverly Tucker, Fran Strauss, and

Marina Hsieh.

NATIONAL ACLU Posts

The ACLU-NC Board elected Marina

Hsieh as the ACLU-NC National Board

Representative for the affiliate. In a

nationwide election, Margaret Russell

was re-elected as an at-large ACLU

National Board Member. National ACLU

President Nadine Strossen appointed

Hsieh to the National Affirmative Action

Committee and appointed former ACLU-

NC National Board Representative Luz

Buitrago to the Biennial Committee, the

team that will plan the national biennial

conference in 1998.

NEWS FROM SACRAMENTO: THE YEAR AHEAD

Judge Rules Prop. 187 Unconstitutional, States

May Not Make Own Immigration Laws

eaffirming that teachers, nurses and

Re workers need not act as border

patrol agents, on November 14, U.S.

District Court Judge Marina Pfaelzer found

almost all of Proposition 187 unconstitu-

tional because the law, passed by California

voters in 1994, oversteps the boundaries of

state authority.

The District Court ruling states that the

passage by Congress of the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act (PRA) - the so-called

"Welfare Reform" of 1996 - precludes the

state from establishing laws that are sepa-

rate and in conflict with federal law on

immigration policy and the treatment of

immigrants, regardless of their legal status.

The ACLU challenge was filed the morn-

ing after the November 1994 election. The

voter-approved Proposition 187 would have

excluded undocumented immigrants from a

variety of services including education and

health care and required educators and oth-

er government employees to question and

report immigrants suspected of not being

documented.

This is an exciting victory for immigrant

rights," said ACLU-NC managing attorney

Alan Schlosser. "Judge Pfaelzer again cor-

rectly has shown that Proposition 187 vio-

lates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S.

Constitution and that the state of California

cannot deny immigrants equal protection of

the law."

The District Court ruling came in a con-

glomeration of four cases, including

Gregorio T. v. Wilson filed by the ACLU of

Southern California. The ruling, if upheld

on appeal, would render moot the ACLU-NC

case, Pedro A. v. Dawson and the State

Board of Education which was also filed the

day after the November, 1994 election. That

case, which is pending in San Francisco

Superior Court, challenged Proposition

187's provision denying the children of

undocumented immigrants access to sec-

ondary schools as a violation of the right to

equal education guaranteed by the

California Constitution.

In the conclusion of her 82-page ruling,

Judge Pfaelzer wrote, "After the Court's

November 20, 1995 Opinion, Congress

enacted the PRA, a comprehensive statuto-

ry scheme regulating alien eligibility for

public benefits. Further, the PRA ousts

state power to legislate in the area of public

benefits of aliens. When President Clinton

signed the PRA, he effectively ended any

further debate about what the states could

do in this field.

"As the Court pointed out in its prior

Opinion, California is powerless to enact

its own legislation scheme to regulate

immigration."

Ninth Circuit Hears Arguments for

Journalists' Access

to Executions

n December 11, a three-judge panel

O of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

heard ACLU-NC cooperating attor-

ney David Fried argue that when the state

shields lethal gas execution procedures

from the view of journalists and other wit-

nesses it violates the First Amendment.

The hearing in California First

Amendment Coalition v. Department of

Corrections, is a result of the Department of

Corrections appeal of a District Court

injunction barring prison officials from

restricting journalists' access to San

Quentin's lethal injection executions.

The hearing ranged from the historical

-with one judge noting that public execu-

tions were "brought indoors" in 1858 - to

the philosophical - when another asked

attorney Fried whether "we would be

activists" if they became the first court to

allow journalists to examine the entire exe-

cution procedure.

"Tf you want to have public understand-

ing of the event, you have to have reports

from people who were able to see it," argued

Fried. "That information cannot come

exclusively from government officials."

In 1996, when William Bonin became

the first person in California to be executed

by lethal injection, reporters and other wit-

nesses to the February 23 execution were

prevented by prison officials from observing

the complete execution procedure. Unable

to offer first-hand accounts of the entire

process, including the difficulties prison

officials admitted they encountered in

inserting the IVs, the journalists could not

Continued on page 5

C0008 88HOHHHHHHHOHSHHHHHHHHEHHHHHH8HHHHHHEHHEHHHHHHHHEH8ESEHEESE8EHE8

Court Panel Hears

California Welfare Case

implications for many of California's

most vulnerable residents, the ACLU

-argued on December 11 against reducing

welfare benefits to newcomers to the state

to a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit

Court of Appeals.

The case of Roe v. Anderson, argued

by ACLU of Southern California Legal

Director Mark Rosenbaum, was filed by

the ACLU affiliates of Southern and

Northern California and the NOW Legal

Defense and Education Fund to challenge

the implementation of the durational resi-

dency requirement for welfare recipients.

This requirement, imposed by Governor

Wilson, would mean that a newcomer to

the state would have his or her monthly

[: a case that could have profound

aid check held for twelve months to

the level received in the previous state.

For instance, a person moving from

Mississippi would receive $144 a month

instead of the $673 someone would

receive in California. "Given the cost of

high living in California," Rosenbaum told

the appellate court, "that person would be

on the street."

When the Deputy Attorney General

responded that people move to California

as a form of shopping for a better lifestyle,

Judge Betty Fletcher admonished, "This is

not just about a standard of living, it's a

staying alive standard!"

The ACLU argues that the draconian

welfare cuts violate the constitutional

guarantee of freedom to travel.

In a summary judgment ruling issued

November 20, 1995, Judge Pfaelzer had

confirmed exclusive federal authority over

immigration law and policy and ruled that

major portions of Proposition 187 were

unconstitutional, thus eliminating the

need for a trial on those specific provisions.

The 1995 ruling stated that the children of

undocumented immigrants shall not be

denied a free, public education, or that fed-

erally-funded benefits may not be denied to

immigrants regardless of their status.

"From the beginning, Proposition 187

was bad law and bad policy. Public health

experts unanimously agreed that

| Proposition 187's denial of health services

would endanger the public health, lead-

ing to increased incidence of tuberculosis

and other communicable diseases," said

ACLU of Southern California lawyer Mark

Rosenbaum, the lead attorney on the

case.

"Education and law enforcement

experts opposed the denial of elementary

and secondary school access to innocent

children. Proposition 187's main purpose

has always been as the face card in

Governor Wilson's race deck. Its legacy

would have been creating division among

California's diverse people's whose differ-

ences should be celebrated, not exploited,"

Rosenbaum concluded.

The anti-immigrant measure has never

been implemented, with the exception of

Sections 2 and 3 concerning the manufac-

ture and distribution of fraudulent immi-

gration documents which are already illegal

under federal law.

Attorney General Dan Lungren has said

that he will appeal the ruling.

Individuals Convicted

for Consensual Sex

to be Dropped from Sex Offender Registry

By MariA ARCHULETA

crucial but little known provision of

At recently enacted Sex Offender

egistration Law will allow individu-

als convicted of consensual gay sex, under

now-defunct criminal statutes, to expunge

their names from the state's sex offender

registry. They will no longer be required to

register as sex offenders or be listed in

California's sex offender registry. Those

already listed can request to be deleted

from the registry. This relief is due to lan-

guage drafted by the ACLU and included in

Assembly Bill 290 (Alby) - signed by

Governor Wilson on October 8 - which

alters California's interpretation of

Megan's Law.

"This provision is especially important

for gay men who have been unjustly target-

ed by repressive laws for so many years,"

| said ACLU-NC staff attorney Kelli Evans.

| "Although the laws under which these men

| were convicted were struck down decades

| ago, the men were still in jeopardy of being

stigmatized as sex offenders. Hopefully,

they will now be protected from being

swept up by the unduly broad brush of sex

offender registration laws."

The ACLU was also able to eliminate

from the list of registrable offenses in the

bill, individuals convicted under Penal

Code Section 647(d) - loitering around a

public toilet - a provision historically

used in sting operations targeting gay men.

Prior to the decriminalization of con-

sensual gay sex in the mid-1970's, a num-

ber of men were convicted and placed on

_ California's sex offender registry. The reg-

ACLU News = January/Fesruary 1998 = Pace 2

istry was allowed to languish for a number

of years. However, with the recent passage

of Megan's Law, many of these individuals

were contacted by the Department of

Justice (DOJ) and told that they, like

those convicted of rape and child molesta-

tion, must also register as convicted sex

offenders and face possible community

notification.

By July, 1988, the DOJ will issue a

report which will include the number of

people convicted for consensual gay sex

before January 1, 1976, the number of

these individuals convicted for subsequent

sex offenses, and the number of people

who have applied for relief from registra-

tion. This information will be used to

purge the sex offender registry.

An individual who wants to have his

name removed from the list now can sub-

mit to the DOJ either official documentary

evidence, such as court records or police

reports which demonstrate that the con-

_ viction was for conduct between consent-

_ing adults, or submit a confidential

declaration stating that the conviction was

for conduct between consenting adults.

Because many of the convictions are more

than two decades old, and official records

may no longer exist, the declaration must

include the person's name, address, tele-

phone number, date of birth, and a summa-

ry of the circumstances leading to the

conviction, including the date of convic-

tion and county in which it occurred.

If the DOJ determines that the convic-

tion was based on consensual conduct

Continued on page 5

Rights Day Honors Wilkinson,

Fight Against HUAC

en Frank Wilkinson stepped up to

the podium in the Grand Ballroom

of the Sheraton Palace Hotel to

a

S

=

x

S

S

mC

=

oS

Frank Wilkinson

receive the Earl Warren Civil Liberties

Award, his booming voice and powerful

stride belied his more than six decades of

activism. "As we celebrate the anniversary

of the Bill of Rights we also the 50th anniver-

sary of the Hollywood blacklist," he said,

reminding the audience of 500 ACLU sup-

porters that his own battles for justice start-

ed more than half a century ago.

The ACLU-NC Annual Bill of Rights Day

Celebration on December 14 in San

Francisco also featured keynote speaker

Christopher Edley, founder of Harvard

University's Civil Rights Project and advisor

to President Clinton's Race Commission, stu-

dent presentations in video and art, an award

presentation to veteran activist Marlene De

Lancie and spirited music from the Jewish

Folk Chorus and the Chris Pitts Trio.

EARL WARREN AWARD

Honoree Frank Wilkinson, introduced by

former ACLU-NC legal director and KQED

Newsroom reporter Marshal Krause,

launched the National Committee to Abolish

HUAC during the heyday of McCarthyism.

The First Amendment was under heavy

assault from witch hunting committees

modeled on the House UnAmerican

Activities Committee. As Wilkinson's long-

time friend and colleague Dick Criley

recalled, "In the spring of 1961, Frank con-

cluded a speech to five thousand students on

the Berkeley Campus with the words, `We

will not save free speech if we are not pre-

pared to go to jail in its defense. I am pre-

pared to pay that price. Frank was on his

way to Atlanta to serve a year sentence for

contempt of Congress. A month earlier the

U.S. Supreme Court had rejected the appeal

of his conviction for refusing to answer ques-

tions before HUAC in a First Amendment

test case undertaken by the ACLU," Criley

recalled in a moving tribute to Wilkinson.

But Wilkinson's year in jail did not stop

him. He carried on his efforts to halt the

witch hunts and, in 1975, succeeded in get-

ting Congress, with the leadership of north-

ern California Phil Burton and Don

Edwards, to abolish HUAC.

Wilkinson continued to monitor and

oppose dangerous laws, leading the

renamed National Committee Against

Repressive Legislation. His work against

government secrecy and political repression

is legendary - his FBI file, finally released

by the government under the Freedom of |

Information Act in 1983 following an ACLU |

lawsuit, totals almost 5,000 pages.

ACLU-NC Executive Dir-ector Dorothy

Ehrlich noted that "Frank Wilkinson's great

history reminds us that while we fight the

good fight day in and day out, we generally

do it from the safety of our somewhat com-

fortable offices or somewhat safe court

rooms - but we almost never live in fear

that our work will send us to jail. So today |

we should remember that the reason we can |

do this is because of the brave heroes that |

have gone before us who paved the way for

us to continue to carry out the fight for free-

dom, and they restore our hope."

Ehrlich also drew lessons of hope from

the students whose work was on display at

the Freedom of Expression Art Show spon-

sored by the San

Francisco Chapter

and who partici-

pate in the Howard

A. Friedman First

Amendment Edu-

cation Project. A

moving twenty-

minute video,

introduced by stu-

dents: Chandler

Huntley and Ogai

Haider, gave a vivid

portrayal of the

Project's week-long

journey investigat-

ing the criminal

justice system in

California - the

students spoke of

meeting Death Row

inmates, judges,

families of murder

victims and women

incarcerated in the

largest women's

prison in the country.

FIGHTING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

Educator and author Christopher Edley,

a legal scholar whose razor-sharp analysis of

race issues has been sought by Presidents

and activists alike, tackled Proposi-tion 209

and its aftermath. "We are trying to call

America's conscience to the challenge of

dealing with this problem of color," he said,

"This is hard...it's not rocket science, it's

harder than rocket science."

Edley recalled that in his first discussion

with Clinton as part of the federal review of

affirmative ac-tion, "I and others in the room

suggested that a good place to begin was for

him to lay out his existing policy on race. He

answered, `I am for vigorous enforcement of

existing anti-discrimination laws, I am

against quotas, and | am for equal opportu-

nity, the President explained.

Friedman Project

S

S

=

=

3

S

ee

=

AS

ACLU-NC Chair Dick Grosboll presents

Marlene De Lancie with a congratulatory

hug and the Lola Hanzel Courageous

Advocacy Award.

"After a round of agreement from those

assembled in the room, I spoke up, `Wait, -

Pete Wilson could say that, Ward Connerly

could say that, even ... David Duke could say

that.' I suggested that a conversation of

platitudes, or papering over, is not a way to

get to the heart of this issue."

"There is a difference of opinion on the

value of inclusion" I'd like to say that for a

society - or for an entering class at a col-

lege - to achieve true merit, one must be

inclusive.

"Those of you in this room are the elite

division in this battle. For a society to come

together, we must understand why we are

divided. We need an effective strategy for

ending this centuries-old struggle. Are we

willing to pay the cost for such a benefit?"

Edley asked.

Ric ROCAMORA

High school students Chandler Huntley and Ogai Haider spoke

of exploring California's justice system with the ACLU's

North Peninsula Chapter leader and

Bill of Rights Campaign Chair Marlene De

Lancie, was cited as a "tireless activist"

and a "savvy fundraiser," by ACLU-NC

Chair Dick Grosboll who presented her

with the Lola Hanzel Courageous

Advocacy Award.

"Arriving here as an immigrant | truly

believed in the principles of a democracy,

but I soon learned the reality and the

rights,

Keynote speaker Chris Edley "calling

America's conscience to the challenge of

dealing with this problem of color."

ideals of a democracy are divergent," said

| De Lancie who came to the U.S. from

Germany in 1936 after Hitler came to power.

"There is one organization which at-

tempts to do that and that is the ACLU.

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights has

no better advocate or defender. That real-

ization inspired me to become a volun-

teer." After a successful career in

scientific research, De Lancie decided she

| could do more for social justice in commu-

nity service than in the sciences. She

helped desegregate the San Mateo public

schools, led campaigns for reproductive

and played a leading role

in the campaign against the death penalty.

As chair of the Bill of Rights Campaign

for the past eleven years, she has created

a powerful fundraising vehicle for chap-

ter activists.

The event closed with a powerful trib-

ute to Paul Robeson, the attorney, civil

rights leader, athlete and baritone, whose

centennial is being celebrated this year. His

refusal to bow to the bigots of the House

UnAmerican Activities Committee was

reenacted on audiotape by James Earl

Jones and Ed Asner, accompanied by a slide

presentation from the Paul Robeson

Centennial Committee.

At a reception following the program,

sculptor Ruth Asawa presented cash

prizes to the student artists whose work

was on display.

The Bill of Rights Day Celebration was

generously underwritten by gifts from the

law firms of Heller, Ehrman, White and

McAuliffe, and the law firm of Howard, Rice,

Nemerovski, Canady, Falk and Rabkin. The

event was organized by Field

Representative Lisa Maldonado. and

Law Firm's Fee

Donation Creates

New Racial Justice

Fellowship

BY DoroTHy EHRLICH

ACLU-NC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

court-awarded fee of $1.8 million in

A: civil rights case will enable the

CLU-NC to further expand our

effort in the fight for racial justice in the

coming years. The award is part of a judg-

ment from the California Court of Appeal

in Davis v. California Department of

Corrections a case brought by the ACLU on

behalf of Bettye Davis, a Richmond mother

whose home was unlawfully invaded and

searched in 1988 by armed officers of the

Richmond Police Department and the

state Department of Corrections who

claimed they were looking for a parolee

who lived at the address. Davis and her

children were terrorized during the

search, her doors were broken down, and

the ashes of her late husband were spilled

from the mantle piece. In earlier rulings,

the lawsuit also brought about new regula-

tions for conducting such searches and

$668,000 in damages for the family.

The law firm of Pillsbury, Madison and

Sutro donated the entire fee award -

the largest the ACLU has ever received

- to the ACLU-NC Foundation. Mark

Schallert of Pillsbury, who led the legal

team, which included Pillsbury attorneys

John Leflar, Suzanne Janissen, Jennifer

Wysong and many others, and ACLU-NC

Continued on page 5

: ACLU News = January/Fesruary 1998 = Pace 3

BY VALERIE SMALL NAVARRO

ACLU Legislative Advocate

66 hew!" we thought. This year

the Democrats once again

controlled both houses of the

state Legislature. True, Pete Wilson, was

still the Governor; but we would get a

respite from the frontal assault on civil lib-

erties marshaled when _ right-wing

Republicans controlled the Assembly. We

did get the respite from the frontal assault;

however, we were faced with something

possibly more insidious: an onslaught of

bad bills - mostly "tough-on-crime'" bills

- often crafted by Democrats from mod-

erate districts.

WELFARE REFORM AND THE MEGA-

DEAL

"Wilson gets landmark welfare bill' blared

the Sacramento Bee headline. Despite all

our efforts, the headline was true. The

Governor drove a hard bargain, leaving the

Democrats squabbling amongst them-

selves instead of working together to

defeat his draconian welfare cuts.

While the ACLU and other groups who

lobbied for some humanitarian relief in the

welfare reform package were told that

there was no money, no money, no money,

somehow, somewhere in the wee hours of

the morning on the last night of the legisla-

tive session, after budget negotiations had

closed out, there was money, big money.

The MEGA-Deal totaling more than

$1.5 billion - engineered by Senator

(where-there's-a-will-there's-a-way, not-to-

mention-the-dollars) Bill Lockyer (D,

Hayward) - produced a humongous tax

cut and funding for trial courts.

Despite Assembly Speaker Cruz

Bustamante's (D, Fresno) drawing what the

Los Angeles Times referred to as a "rare

hard-line stance" vowing to hold firm in

budget negotiations on aid for legal immi-

grants (a $124 million package), in the end,

there was "no money' to provide elderly

legal immigrants with Supplemental

Security Income and there was "no money"

for food stamps for adult legal immigrants.

The bottom line: legal immigrants end-

ed up with $35 million for food stamps for

children and elderly immigrants who

entered the U.S. before August 22, 1996

and $2 million for a farm worker voucher

program.

CUTTING PRE-NATAL CARE

Furthermore, miserably, the Democrats

were unable to muster the support for re-

enacting prenatal care for undocumented

women. Instead of forcing the Governor to

make good on his threats to veto the health

bill which should have included the prena-

tal care, the Democrats did not include it

in the measure.

Although the bottom line was better

than the zero dollars the Governor wanted

for immigrants; it poignantly represents

Senate President pro Tem Bill Lockyer's

(D, Hayward) lack of interest in the immi-

grant issue and Speaker Cruz Bustamante's

(D, Fresno) lack of willingness to play hard

ball with the Governor.

Other than clean-up legislation (i.e.,

creation of some of the 500,000 jobs neces-

sary if indeed the Legislature is serious

about the "work" part of the "welfare to

work" equation). This coming year advo-

cates may have to switch gears to litigation

as the 58 counties scramble to come up with

and implement 58 different county plans.

THE ACLU AFFIRMATIVE AGENDA

The ACLU and other civil rights

organizations developed the Omnibus Civil

Rights measure (AB 310, Assemblywoman

Shiela Kuehl-D, Santa Monica) to

strengthen and add to the protections

afforded to people suffering from discrimi-

nation or harassment in the workplace or

housing market. Among its provisions are

Back

Forward

sections that conform the state's religious

exemption to the narrower federal law

standard, extend protections against

harassment to contract workers, prohibit

genetic testing, and require that employers

provide reasonable accommodation for

pregnant employees.

The bill was painted by the religious

right as being part of the "gay rights agen-

da" despite its lack of reference to gay peo-

ple. Although there is a Democratic

majority in the Assembly, getting the

majority of votes was a real cliff-hanger

which started at 3:55 pm with only 31 votes

and lasted until 9:40 pm the next day. Civil

rights activists will long remember that

Democratic Assemblymember Carl

Washington (D, Paramount) voted against

the bill and Joe Baca (D, Rialto) stayed off

the vote.

On the next to last day of the session the

bill was taken up on the Senate floor where

it came up two votes short of passage.

NEW VOTE ON CIVIL RIGHTS

AB 310 will be brought up again for a vote

in the Senate and the Assembly in 1998. We

urge ACLU members and friends to chal-

lenge the members of the Legislature and

the Governor to abide by the Governor's call

for "zero tolerance for any form of discrimi-

nation" and his avowed commitment "to

take active steps to promote equal opportu-

nity regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity"

issued in the wake of Proposition 209's pas-

sage, to support this bill.

A second measure, SB 1251 by

Senator Charles Calderon (D, Whittier) is

restricted to the damages and fees issues

formerly in the Kuehl bill (removing the

$50,000 cap on damages for employees)

and ensuring that prevailing parties may

recover expert witness fees for people who

file claims under the Fair Employment and

Housing Act. This bill passed the Senate

(21 to 13) and next year faces a vote on the

Assembly floor before going to the

Governor's desk.

PRISON INTERVIEWS

Senator Quentin Kopp's (I, San

Francisco) measure to ensure media

access to prisons (SB 4384) virtually

sailed through both houses on a biparti-

san basis. However, the Governor vetoed

the measure - a not unexpected result

considering he had designed the media

ACLU News = JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1998 = Pace 4

ban in the first place - despite hearing

from people that they want the media to

report on how their tax dollars are being

spent in our prisons.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

(a.k.a. Politicians' Bread and

Butter)

AB 15388 authored by Assemblywoman

Sally Havice (D, Cerritos) and co-authored

by Senator Steve Peace (D, San Diego)

expanding the application of the death

penalty to murders that are committed to

further or assist in criminal conduct by

street gangs flew out of the Assembly 68 to

9 votes. While Assemblywoman Havice

decided to make AB 1588 a two-year bill in

the Senate, it remains to be seen whether

the Senate Committee on Public Safety

will be able to neutralize or defeat this bill

next year.

When Democrats go out this far, the

Republicans are not to be outdone. They

brought us AB 490 by Assemblyman Roy

Ashburn (R, Bakersfield) to impose the

death penalty on people who intentionally

kill a victim under age 14. After zipping

through the Assembly 67 to 5 and passing

the Senate Public Safety Committee, this

bill was put on hold in the Senate

- Appropriations Committee. We can expect

this bill to be brought to a full Senate vote

next year.

Then Mike Reynolds (the creator of

Three Strikes) brought us two more bud-

get-busting, far-reaching crime bills:AB 4

by Assemblyman Tom Bordonaro (R, Paso

Robles), the "10-20-Life" bill, and AB 1370

from Assemblyman Robert Prenter (R,

Fresno), a measure to severely limit the

California Supreme Court holdings in two

Three Strikes cases.

AB 4 which imposes additional sen-

tences on an individual who uses a gun in

the commission of certain felonies passed

the Assembly 72 to 4 and the Senate 30 to

1: 10 years for brandishing a gun, 20 years

for firing a gun, or 25 years-to-life for firing

a gun and causing great bodily injury. The

brave "no" votes were Assemblymembers

Shiela Kuehl (D, Santa Monica), Carole

Migden (D, San Francisco), Carl

Washington (D, Paramount) and Rod

Wright (D, South Central Los Angeles) and

Senator Hilda Solis (D, El Monte). It gave

us pause: where were the other "champi-

ons" of civil liberties?

ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL ANDERSON

On the other hand, the Assembly

Committee on Public Safety is showing

some moxie by holding an interim study

on AB 1370, a measure which would

severely limit the California Supreme

Court's Romero and Alvarez decisions

which among other things allow judges to

dismiss prior convictions or reduce cer-

tain charges to misdemeanors in the fur-

therance of justice.

Unfortunately, it is likely to get worse

in this upcoming election year! Despite

the crime rate going down in California

and the rest of the country, we are going to

see more "tough-on-crime" bills and there

will be even more pressure to pass them.

WHAT THE ELECTION YEAR WILL

BRING

The benevolent-sounding "English for the

Children" initiative dismantling bilingual

education in California garnered enough

signatures to appear on the June 1998 bal-

lot. This measure takes a one-size-fits-all

approach which requires that non-

English speaking children be placed in a

one-year English immersion program,

after which they would be placed in

English-only classes. Although there are

"exceptions" which allow parents or prin-

cipals to place children in classes taught

totally or partially in their native tongue,

it is unclear how parents who may not be

fluent in English themselves are supposed

to be able to understand or seek out these

options. The ACLU will vigorously oppose

this ballot measure (See article page 2 on

what it means, and how you can get

involved. )

The champagne bubbles were barely

fading from the celebration of our victory

in the minors' right to abortion case

American Academy of Pediatrics v.

Lungren, when we learned that we may be

faced with the "California Parental Rights

and Protection Initiative." This measure

would amend the California Constitution

to restore the state's parental consent law

for minors' abortion is a companion to

efforts by the anti-choice groups campaign

to remove the state Supreme Court jus-

tices who voted to overturn the law who

are up for confirmation.

As of our printing deadline, the initia-

tive proponents are claiming to postpone

their signature-gathering for now and save

Continued on page 5

New Racial Justice Fellowship...

Continued from page |

staff counsel Ed Chen, worked on the

case for almost a decade.

STRONG MESSAGE

The fees donated to the ACLU-NC will

not only expand our legal program but

send a strong message to law enforcement

agencies that there can be a very high

price to pay for violating constitutional

rights. "The commitment and legal acu-

- men of the Pillsbury attorneys contributed

greatly to the legal victory in this case,"

said ACLU-NC staff attorney Chen. "The

firm's generosity in donating this signifi-

cant attorneys' fee award to the ACLU

means that our work on behalf of other

families whose constitutional rights were

violated will also be strengthened."

The award comes at a time when the

ACLU-NC's deep involvement in the battle

for affirmative action and other efforts in

the fight for racial equality are sorely in

need of greater resources. Unfortunately,

for all our commitment to racial justice,

we have not been terribly successful.

Racial equality continues to be an even

more elusive goal as we head toward the

next century. Especially when we examine

our work over the past three years on affir-

mative action, we are losing ground. With

the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear

our facial challenge to Proposition 209

Coalition for Economic Equity v. Wilson,

we now find ourselves faced with a myriad

of individual challenges, any one of which

can have precedent-setting consequences.

STRATEGIC RESPONSE

The legal fallout from Proposition 209

is particularly ominous. While significant

resources were focused on the single test

case brought last year, we now face a half

Unz Initiative ...

Continued from page |

will have a severe and detrimental impact

on Latinos and Asians who make up the vast

majority of limited English proficient stu-

dents in the California public schools. In

Lau the Supreme Court found San

Francisco's failure to provide special assis-

tance to immigrant students violated Title

VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which pro-

hibits recipients of federal funds from dis-

crimination against racial and national

origin minorities.

The initiative violates the due

process rights of parents. The parental

"choice" proffered by the initiative makes

waivers almost impossible to obtain.

Moreover, the waiver is not available to

non-English speaking children under ten

absent special needs as determined by the

school superintendent, and it must be

obtained by parents who must submit a

written request and appear in person at

the school. This burdensome and intimi-

dating process makes it difficult, if not

impossible, for working parents and par-

ents with immigration documentation

problems to assert their rights.

The school districts are given unlimited

discretion to approve or deny waivers, with-

out providing any standard rationale or

appeal procedures. ZS

The initiative feeds into and fortifies

a climate of racism and anti-immigrant

scapegoating. The Unz initiative, built on

a campaign of misinformation, stereotypes

and distortions of statistics and the law, is

another step on the continuum of

Proposition 187, Proposition 209 and the

federal immigration and welfare "reforms."

The initiative is part of the politics of

scapegoating and division and singling out

a disfavored and generally powerless

dozen cases - and the likelihood of

dozens more. The need to monitor all

these cases, and respond strategically to a

legal environment increasingly hostile to

racial equality is a major challenge, both

to the ACLU and to our civil rights coali-

tion partners whom we work with closely

on this issue.

Faced with this challenge, and the gen-

erosity of Pillsbury's fee award donation,

our Board of Directors agreed to establish a

new Racial Justice Fellow position for a

three-year multi-faceted assignment. In

addition, the project will seek support

from private foundations.

PROTECTING RACIAL EQUALITY

The Fellow will assist current staff

counsel in developing and implementing

a strategy to ensure that equal opportuni-

ty and anti-discrimination policies are

protected in post-Proposition 209

California. In addition, the Fellow will

support our new project focused on

racism in the criminal justice system.

That project, which received a grant from

the Center on Crime, Communities and

Culture of the Open Society Institute (a

new foundation founded by New York

financier George Soros), will focus on

developing a strategy to challenge the

disproportionate incarceration of people

of color in the nation's criminal and juve-

nile justice systems.

As part of this effort, our Police

Practices Project work to stem the grow-

ing use of law enforcement data bases

comprised almost entirely of young men

of color - branding them as "gang mem- |

bers," without any accusation of the com-

mission of a crime - _ will also be

enhanced by the additional resources.

While the three-year fellowship will

focus primarily on legal action, the

Board, recognizing the crucial role of

message development and public educa-

tion in the volatile debate on racial jus-

tice, has also approved the addition of a

media specialist to work in this arena

during the coming year.

We have long relied on attorneys fees

as an important source of revenue for our

diverse and ambitious legal program.

Revenue from attorneys fees, much of it

donated by the law firms who volunteer

for ACLU-NC, comprise an average of 10%

of the ACLU-NC Foundation budget.

Pillsbury's extraordinary award will allow

us to expand our program in a way that is

absolutely crucial in this period, and still

enable us to reserve a portion of these

fees to fund our core program for the

future. The ACLU-NC legal program, led

by six staff counsel in the San Francisco

office working with more than 100 volun-

teer attorneys, includes a docket of more

than 70 cases every year.

We are extremely grateful to Pillsbury,

Madison and Sutro. Their fee award puts the

ACLU-NC in the rare position of both fac-

ing a critical challenge in the area of racial

justice, and having extraordinary new

resources to effectively respond to the

wide variety of civil liberties abuses that

face us each year - whether it be

attempts to censor school books or cyber-

space, to cut back on reproductive rights

or the rights of lesbians and gay men, or to

deny immigrants, welfare recipients or stu-

dents their rights and their dignity.

Legislative ...

Continued from page 4

the initiative for the year 2000 election. Did

they lack the necessary signatures? Is this

a ploy to trick pro-choice voters? Watch

this space for further details.

In addition, there may be another

insidious ballot measure targeted at creat-

ing harsher penalties for juvenile offend-

ers, This one, by the state District

Attorneys, is now in the form of a 500-page

draft proposal. They want to put it on the

November 1998 ballot.

Finally, the pressure to build prisons

and schools mounts as the as the state's

inmate population has increased sevenfold

over the last two decades and the number

of school children increases while there is

a move to reduce class size. How these two

interests compete for dollars in upcoming

budget battles and ballot measures will dri-

ve our state's economy and well-being for

decades.

group (here limited English proficient stu-

dents and their immigrant families) for

mistreatment under the guise of so-called

"benevolent" policies (much like welfare

reform - by taking away a hard-won bene-

fit - is supposed to "empower and uplift"

AFDC recipients). The initiative is also

related to the broader "English-only"

movement, which is predicated on the

notion that multiple language services

provided by the government constitute

a threat to the stability of the American

society - a premise that the ACLU has

long-sought to expose as false and oppose

in practice.

While defeating this measure presents

many challenges, the more voters hear

about the Unz initiative, the more likely

they are to vote no. Once again, the ACLU

and our allies are called upon to stand up

to the scapegoating and stereotyping

which have become the byword for the pas-

sage of backward, divisive legislation. Hi

Consensual Sex ...

Continued from page 2

between adults, within 60 days the DOJ

shall notify the local law enforcement

agency that the person is no longer required

to register (unless the person has other con-

victions that require registration) and the

local law enforcement agency must remove

the person from its registry within 30 days.

If the DOJ finds that the information sub-

mitted is insufficient to justify removal from

the sex offender registry, an individual can

appeal the decision to the superior court.

"The Department of Justice should have

taken these individuals off the sex registry

list a very long time ago," said ACLU

Legislative Director Francisco Lobaco who

worked on the passage of the provision. "We

expect this new law will facilitate the

process by which these innocent individuals

can finally have their names removed from

the sex registry list."

ACLU News = JaAnuary/Fesruary 1998 = Pace 5

Journalists' ...

Continued from page 2

thoroughly inform the public on the state

execution. Thus, the public had to rely

- solely on prison officials for information

about how the death penalty is being

implemented by this new method of execu-

tion. "The government has never been a

substitute for public access," Fried told the

court. "Prison officials have a reflexive

desire for secrecy." ;

On April 9, 1996 ACLU-NC attorneys

filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists,

news organizations and First Amendment

advocates, asking the court to issue an

immediate injunction to prevent the

prison from imposing the restrictions dur-

ing subsequent executions. On May 31 of

that year, the Court issued a preliminary

injunction enjoining prison officials from

restricting witness observation of execu-

tions.

On February 28, 1997 U.S. District Court

Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that public wit-

nesses - including the media - have a

constitutionally protected right to observe

executions and that there was no evidence

that media presence jeopardizes prison

security or the safety of prison personnel.

Peter Sussman, immediate past presi-

dent of the plaintiff Society for Professional

Journalists, said, "The District Court recog-

nized a First Amendment right for public wit-

nesses to see this most irrevocable of

governmental acts in its entirety, without the

mediation of prison PR people. It's not a role

anyone can relish, but it's essential if the citi-

zens of this state are to be kept informed

about the awesome powers exercised in their

name," he added.

The plaintiffs are represented by Fried,

attorneys Jeffrey S. Ross, Michael Kass and

Paul Jahn of the law firm of Friedman, Ross

Hersh, and ACLU-NC managing attorney

Alan Schlosser. @

REMOVING NAMES

Individuals convicted of consensual

gay sex who seek removal from the sex

offender registry can send a cover letter

and official documentary evidence or con-

fidential declarations to:

CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION and

ANALYSIS

SEX AND ARSON REGISTRATION

PROGRAM

P.O Box 903387

SACRAMENTO, CA 94203-3870

For more information or to check on

the status of requests, call the

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION UNIT

916/227-3288

_ The ACLU-NC has produced a fact

sheet which explains the new law and how

to get your name removed from the registry.

To order, call the ACLU-NC Complaint

Desk at 415/621-2488.

BY KEN RUSSELL

ow do you relate to the media

H when you feel that it portrays you

as =the Hall or Western

Civilization?" What is the role of truth

when the main goal of a newspaper is to

make money? These are some of the ques- |

tions 400 high school journalists dealt

with at the 1997 Writing Your Rights con-

ference sponsored by the Howard A.

Friedman First Amendment Education

Project on October 21 at U.C. Berkeley.

"While schools make clear to students

exactly what they cannot do, this confer-

ence gives them the unique opportunity to

learn what they can do," explained Project

Director Nancy Otto. "High school jour-

nalists learn that their work is protected

by the First Amendment, state education

codes, and the state Constitution."

In a raucous opening session, powered

by the sounds of Youth Radio DJ Rudy

Herrera, students used prose, poetry, and

graffiti to create a mural reflecting the

portrayals of their generation in the

media. Negative stereotypes such as

"ignorant," "troubled," and "dangerous."

dominated. Some images were epic in

scale, "cause of the Apocalypse," some

SCOHSSHSHSSHSHOHSHSHSHHOHHSHSHHSHSHHSHHHSHHSHHHSHSHHHHSHSHHHSHSHHHHHHSHHHHHSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSHHHHHEHEHHH88EHHHHHHSEHES

Writing Your Rights

Student Journalists Ask the Hard Questions

Student journalists create a wall mural using prose, poetry and graffiti to illustrate the

images the media assigns to youth.

more mundane, "reckless drivers." Some

images held out hope, "The Future of

America,' others reflected change,

"Revolutionary."

In the opening plenary, featuring Bay

Area reporters and editors, panelist

Victoria Hudson of the Oakland Tribune

encouraged the students to ignore stereo-

typing, "Don't let the labels stick," she

warned.

But when Hudson reminded students

that the "bottom line" with newspapers was

advertising dollars, a young journalist rose

to the mike in indignation. "Shouldn't it be

about truth, not money," he demanded.

Panelist Raul Ramirez, executive news

director at KQED-FM, responded, "If peo-

ple buy it, it will get printed, I mean, what

is this ridiculous thing about Clinton meet-

ing aliens?"

Teacher Exonerated

for Allowing Student-Initiated Discussion of "Ellen" TV Show

By MariA ARCHULETA

n December 12, the California

QO Commission on Teacher Credential-

ing (CTC) closed the file on the

complaint filed against Alameda teacher

Victoria Forrester, because she allowed a

short student-initiated discussion about

the TV show "Ellen" in her classroom. By

taking no action, the Commission upheld

the Alameda District School Board's

October decision that Forrester did not act

unprofessionally.

Forrester, who was represented by the

ACLU-NC and the California Teachers

Association, said, "I'm very pleased with

: 1 HAD Toc CHANNELS...

2 Doo| HOSeIeMETRRE

: FIOM WATCHING "ELLEN...

the decision. Not only is it a personal vic-

tory, but a victory for academic freedom

and for the citizens of Alameda County

who are looking for a hate-free educational

environment. I'm also pleased that two

separate educational institutions, the

Alameda District School Board and the

CTC came to the same conclusion."

On May 1, 1997, the day after the much-

publicized airing of the national television

show "Ellen" in which the main character

comes out as a lesbian, people in homes |

and offices throughout the country dis-

cussed the historic episode. The students

in Victoria Forrester's fifth grade class in

Alameda's Amelia Earhart Elementary

School were no exception.

The discussion took place in a forum

which Forrester created for students to

exchange ideas and talk about events in

their lives, before launching into the

school day.

On that particular morning, a student

volunteered that she had watched "Ellen"

and thought that the main character was

brave. Another student said that she had

seen the show as well and was proud that

Ellen could "be who she is." Forrester

Dy,

uj

Le EI

VE CH;

COURTESY OF CARTOONIST JOHN BRANCH

wrote the words "brave" and "proud" on the

board, and the class discussed the show for

a few minutes, freely expressing diverse

viewpoints.

Because of the "Ellen" discussion,

which lasted less than ten minutes, a parent

filed a complaint with the school district,

claiming that Forrester should be fired for

allowing the discussion to take place in

front of his daughter. The superintendent

investigated the matter and concluded that

the teacher had not behaved inappropriate-

ly. The parent appealed the superinten-

dent's decision to the Alameda District

School Board. On October 28, during a

packed meeting, the School Board found

Ms. Forrester innocent of any wrong doing.

The parent also filed a complaint with

the California Commission on Teacher

Credentialing asking the state licensing

board to revoke Ms. Forrester's teaching

license.

ACLU-NC staff attorney Kelli Evans,

who is representing the teacher, said, "This

complaint challenged the spirit of free

inquiry that is the core of a democratic

education. While parents have many rights,

they do not have the right to prevent their

children from exposure to any and all ideas

or topics in public school that clash with

their personal world view. They certainly

do not have the right to punish a dedicated

San Francisco Examiner columnist

Bill Wong implored students to make their

voices heard in the mainstream press,

"You are the consumers of the media."

Wong's decades of experience inside

newsrooms taught him that editors really

do listen when you write or call them

about something you have read.

In conference workshops, students

explored the state of diversity in the news-

room, how to deal with faculty advisors

over issues of censorship, and how to get

access to hard-to-find information. Bay

Guardian editor Tim Redmond told stu-

dents in a workshop on investigative

reporting, "When, you hear "No!", don't get

discouraged, think alternatives." He

explained how to use the Freedom of

Information Act and the California Public

Records Act to gain access to public

records.

The fifth annual student journlism

conference was organized by the Howard

A. First Amendment Project Director

Nancy Otto and the Student Advisory

Committee. The 400 participants repre-

sented over 30 high schools from cities

and rural throughout northern California.

Ken Russell isan ACLU Newsintern @

teacher who allows students to explore the

ideas and events of their world."

In addition to Evans, Forrester is repre-

sented by ACLU-NC staff attorney Margaret

Crosby, and attorney Ballinger Kemp of the

California Teacher's Association.

"Forrester behaved as a concerned and

sensitive teacher," said Crosby. "She creat-

ed an environment where students felt

comfortable satisfying their curiosity and

exploring new ideas while reminding the

class that there are differing perspectives

on every question, and that they should use

their developing critical faculties to reach

their own conclusions," Crosby added.

During the course of the evaluation

before the School Board and the state com-

mission, numerous parents came forward

to support Forrester, calling her a dedicat-

ed teacher who in addition to her class-

room work, has contributed to curriculum

development, served as a mentor teacher,

coached basketball, directed student

plays, and facilitated the Student Council

Program for seven years.

CHOHOSHSOHSHOHSOHHSHSHSHHHSHHHHHHHEHHHTHHHHHHSHHHSHEHSHHHHHHHHEHEHEHHHHHHHHHE

Drug-Sniffing Dog Case

Yields Fees, New Website

he successful settlement of the

[Pct lawsuit against the Galt

Unified School District's use of drug-

sniffing dogs (see ACLU News, November-

December 1997) yielded more than an

agreement to halt the random, unwarrant-

ed classroom searches of students and

teachers. On November 17, the District

agreed to pay $35,000 in attorneys fees; all

of the fees were donated to the ACLU-NC

by the cooperating law firm, Chapman,

Popik and White, whose attorneys John

Heller, Mark White and Robert Lash,

worked with ACLU-NC managing attorney

Alan Schlosser in representing the stu-

dents who objected to the search.

The lawsuit, Reed v. Gali Unified High

School District was the first to challenge

the constitutionality of policies by which

school districts hire private companies to

conduct random searches of students'

belongings. "Any use of the dogs in this

manner is unconstitutional," Heller said.

"No one is arguing that there isn't a drug

problem, but you can't respond to the drug

problem by trampling on the rights of stu-

dents. Students don't automatically give

up their rights once they pass through the

school doors."

1997 Galt High School graduate Jacob

Reed, who refused to have his belongings

searched when the vice-principal brought

the drug-sniffing dog into his criminal jus-

tice class and who called on the ACLU-NC

for support, has now created a website to

inform students about the lawsuit and to

establish a dialogue with others about pri-

vacy rights. To reach the site, go to

www.softcom.netuserskareed.

"The site has an e-mail section. |

hoped that other students would respond,

and they did," said Reed who graduated in

June. "I've received messages from New

Continued on page 8

ACLU News "= January/Fesruary 1998 = Pace 6

Oakland School Board Approves

Settlement in Uniform Lawsuit;

District Will Provide More Aid

providing financial assistance to stu-

dents in purchasing school uniforms,

the Oakland Unified School District

approved in November a final settlement

agreement of an ACLU suit aimed at bring-

ing the District into compliance with the

state Education Code.

The suit (Edelstein v. Oakland Unified

School District) was filed in Alameda

County Superior Court in 1995 by the ACLU-

NC on behalf of the parents of a number of

Oakland elementary school students.

In a partial settlement of the suit

approved in July 1996, the Board agreed to

sweeping changes in the uniform program,

including the establishment of a formal

financial assistance program and a system

for notifying parents that they have the

right to opt out of the program if they do not

want their children to wear uniforms.

However, the earlier agreement did not

resolve the question of the amount of finan-

cial assistance to be provided. That issue

was finalized by last night's approval of the

settlement.

The District has now agreed to maintain

its current levels of assistance of $10.00 per

student for students who wear size 14 or

| na move that improves its program for

smaller and $11.66 for students wearing

larger uniforms. In addition, the agreement

puts in place a system for providing addi-

tional assistance in cases of special need.

"Tt has always been our goal to ensure

that all families can participate in the uni-

form program if they wish to do so, regard-

less of their economic circumstances, while

at the same time making sure that those

families who do not want their children to

wear uniforms know that under state law

they have the absolute right to opt out," said

ACLU-NC staff attorney Ann Brick. "Before

the suit was filed, the District's uniform pol-

icy did neither; the settlement guarantees

that it will now do both."

Among the changes brought about by

the lawsuit were procedures to inform par-

ents on a regular basis that there is finan-

cial assistance available to purchase

uniforms, to change the financial assistance

program to provide aid on a per student -

rather than on a per family - basis, and to

tell families how they can "opt out" of the

program. The agreement also simplifies the

opt out procedure and requires that parents

be told that their children "will not be

penalized academically or retaliated

against in any way as a result of your deci-

sion that he or she not wear a uniform."

Students qualify for vouchers if they are

eligible under the free or reduced price

lunch program or if their families are eligi-

ble for aid under the programs that have

replaced AFDC. The agreement requires the

District to notify parents by mid to late

January that they may apply for additional

aid if they can show "exceptional circum-

stances" that justify supplementing the

vouchers. Starting next fall, the District

will notify families of the availability of addi- |

tional assistance at the time vouchers are

distributed.

Application forms may be obtained from

the principal's office or from the Office of

Student Services at 1025 Second Avenue,

Oakland or by telephoning the Office at

510/836-8111 requesting that an application

be mailed.

about major improvements in the Oakland

school uniform program. It now takes into

account important needs of the students

and their families that were not been

addressed," added Brick.

Legislation allowing school districts to

require uniforms was passed by the

Continued on page 8

Yogi Joins

Development Staff

BY MARIA ARCHULETA

cent s a person of color and a gay man, | |

understand the need for an organi-

ation like the ACLU to protect peo-

ple whose rights might otherwise be

trampled," said Stan Yogi, the affiliate's

new Director of Foundation Support and

Planned Giving.

Yogi's many responsibilities include

|

|

|

|

|

managing the ACLU-NC Foundation's |

fundraising program for charitable

bequests and planned gifts, meeting with

donors, researching and writing grant pro-

posals, and coordinating with the national

ACLU planned giving and foundation

grants staff. :

Ensuring that the ACLU-NC maintains

the financial means to be an effective and

long-lasting organization is a job that Yogi

performs with a personal sense of duty.

"The ACLU calls upon us to live up to our

highest ideals," said Yogi. "My grandpar-

ents were interned during World War II,

and examples like that have stuck with me

and made me see that it is very important

wo ACLU-NC leaders, former Board

[Me Nancy Pemberton and staff

attorney Margaret Crosby, were hon-

ored recently for their years of hard-won

battles for civil liberties.

On November 8, California Women

Defenders honored Nancy Pemberton with

the Ruth Young Award for her contribu-

tions to the practice of criminal justice and

commitment to the preservation of civil

liberties. The award was presented at

their annual Fall Seminar held at Golden |

Gate University in San Francisco. Her

work for civil liberties includes almost 20 |

years of service on the ACLU-NC Board of |

Directors of which she is currently treasur- _

er; she served as ACLU-Board Chair from

19- to 19-. Pemberton also served as Chair

of the Board of Death Penalty Focus of |

California. Pemberton, a private investiga-

that the ACLU be strong and vigilant."

Yogi, who served as a development con-

sultant with the ACLU-NC Foundation, was

hired to replace former Director of

Foundation Support/Planned Giving

Robert Nakatani who moved to New York to

Stan Yogi

join the national ACLU Lesbian and Gay

Rights and HIV/AIDS Projects as

Development Director.

Experienced on both sides of the fund-

ing equation, Yogi has not only written

grant proposals but also evaluated them

for grant makers. As a non-profit-consul-

tant, Yogi helped secure funds for various

human rights and social service organiza-

tions, including the Asian Pacific American

Community Fund, Larkin Street Youth

Center, and New Leaf/San Francisco AIDS

Foundation. At the California Council for

the Humanities and the Koret Foundation,

Yogi assisted in distributing millions of dol-

lars in grants and led grant writing and

program planning workshops. Yogi also

serves on the Board of the Horizons

Foundation, which raises and disburses

funds to lesbian and gay community orga-

nizations.

It was completely accidental that Yogi

ever entered his present field. His first

love was literature, and he planned a

career as a professor. He is the editor of

Highway 99, a literary compendium of

writers from California's Central Valley

including William Saroyan, Maxine Hong

Kingston, and Gary Soto, published in 1996

by Heyday Books. However, after receiving

his MA in English, Yogi became disen-

Crosby, Pemberton

Honored

tor with the firm of Pemberton and

Associates, has also practiced as a criminal

defense attorney in both public and private

realms - in the firm of Topel and Goodman

and as an Assistant Federal Public

Defender.

Margaret Crosby was honored with the

Meta Kauffman/Roy Archibald Civil

Liberties Award at the ACLU-NC North

Peninsula Chapter's Annual Meeting on

October 19, for her outstanding efforts in

defense of reproductive rights and the

First Amendment. Crosby, who joined the

ACLU legal staff in 1976 after serving as a

law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge

_ Robert Peckham, is the foremost litigator

on reproductive rights cases in the state.

Among her major legal victories are the

securing of Medi-Cal funding for abortion

for indigent women and the recent

California Supreme Court ruling striking

down the law restricting minors' rights to

abortion. Crosby has also litigated key

First Amendment church/state issues,

securing the right of Sikh children to wear

kirpans (small ceremonial knives) to

ACLU News = January/Fesruary 1998 = Pace 7

Angelou

Book

Stays on

Shelf

Maya Angelou is a book that has a pro-

found effect on many student readers

- and has been targeted by censors in

school districts around the country.

Fortunately for the sophomores in the

Folsom Cordova Unified School District,

their school Board did not succumb to the

censor's threat: on November 20, the

Board decided that the highly acclaimed

work will remain on the core reading list

for sophomores.

The district considered removing the

book from the list after some parents

objected to Angelou's depictions of sexual-

ES Why the Caged Bird Sings by

_ ity and African American poverty.

"This settlement agreement brings |

In a letter sent to the Board President

on November 7, ACLU-NC staff attorney

Ann Brick urged the Board not to cave in

to the political pressure: "It is a most fun-

damental purpose of the First Amendment

to protect our students from those who

would restrict their reading to the ordi-

nary or the orthodox. Otherwise our

schools fail doubly in their educational

mission; students are deprived of a read-

ing curriculum that challenges and

expands their intellects and they are

taught to discount as "mere platitudes"

the important principles of freedom of

expression that earlier generations have

fought and died for."

The decision upholds the School

Board's November 6 decision - at the rec-

ommendation of an appointed review

committee - to take no action on the call

to ban the book from the curriculum

which six parents appealed. @

chanted with academia and obtained a tem-

porary position at the Koret Foundation as a

receptionist.

From that perch, Yogi got a glimpse of

the art and science of fundraising - and

became fascinated by the importance of

philanthropy in building institutions for

social change. The temp spot soon turned

into a permanent position as a program offi-

cer. The rest is history.

Yogi is looking forward to meeting

ACLU members and is available to speak

with ACLU supporters about their estate

plans and the various tax consequences of

making charitable gifts to the organization

through wills, trusts or annuities. Please

contact Stan Yogi at the ACLU-NC

Foundation office: 415/621-2493 ext. 30. @

(c)0000 8080888828808080888888 888888868

school and ensuring that the City of San

Francisco cease ownership of the Mt.

Davidson Cross atop the City's highest

peak.

In December, Crosby was selected as

one of the "Lawyers of the Year," by

California Lawyer magazine. She was cit-

ed for her work in what the magazine

called "what many consider to be 1997's

most politically charged case," American

Academy of Pediatrics v. Lungren which

overturned the 1987 state law limiting

teens' access to abortion. Crosby was also

honored by Planned Parenthood Golden

Gate on January 20 at their 25th

`Anniversary of Roe v. Wade; the keynote

speaker at that event was Sarah.

Weddington, the attorney who successfully

argued Roe v. Wade before the U.S.

Supreme Court in 1973.

On January 22, 1973, the United States

Supreme Court announced its land-

mark rulings that legalized abortion,

Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. These

decisions ended the night-

mare of dangerous -

sometimes deadly -

back-alley, illegal

abortions. An

editorial in the

New York Times

applauded the

decisions as

offering "a sound

foundation for final

and reasonable resolu-

tion' of the abortion

debate:' Yet, in fact, the struggle that

had resulted in the Supreme Court

victories was far from over. Few in

1973 could have anticipated how

explosive the issue of abortion would

become and how difficult the right

would be to retain.

The ACLU has fought for more than

a quarter century to ensure that the

reproductive rights of women are not

eroded. In California, litigation by the

ACLU of Northern California

has preserved the right to

choose for indigent

women and for

young women.

This year

marks the 25th

anniversary of a

woman's right to

choose. It is a time

to remember what it

Meant not to have the

right, to celebrate our ad-

vances, to reaffirm the importance of

choice to women's health and equality

and to recommit ourselves to defending

and expanding our rights.

Join the ACLU and our pro-choice

coalition partners in celebrating the 25th

Anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

To reserve, eee send check te

ACLU of Sonoma County, PO Box 1

For further Tiere else are] ar

Chapter Meetings

(Chapter meetings are open to all interested members.

Contact the Chapter activist listed for your area.)

B-A-R-K (Berkeley-Albany-Richmond-Ken-

sington) Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth

Thursday) For more information, time and address of

meetings, contact Jim Chanin at 510/848-4752 or

Rachel Richman at 510/540-5507.

Fresno Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth Tuesday).

Please join our newly-reorganized Chapter! Meetings are

held at 7:00 PM at the Fresno Center for Non-Violence.

For more information, call Bob Hirth 209/225-6223

(days).

Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter Meeting:

(Usually first Thursday) For schedule of meetings or more

information, contact Steve Zollman at 510/845-7108.

Marin County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Monday) Meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Corte Madera Town

Center, Community Meeting Room. For more information,

contact Kerry Peirson at 415/383-3989.

Mid-Peninsula Chapter Meeting: (Usually fourth

Thursday) Meet at 7:30 PM, at 460 South California

Avenue, Suite 11, Palo Alto. Next meeting January 15.

Join us for the retreat January 23-24. For more

information, contact Ken Russell at 650/325-8750.

Monterey County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Tuesday) Meet at 7:15 PM, Monterey Library. Join

us for our Annual Meeting with Assemblymember

Fred Keeley and winners of the annual Essay

Contest on January 17 at 2 p.m. at the Monterey

Library. For more information, contact Richard Criley at

408/624-7562.

North Peninsula (San Mateo area) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Monday) Meet at 7:30 PM, at

700 Laurel Street, Park Tower Apartments, top floor. For

more information, contact Marshall Dinowitz at

415/595-5131.

Redwood (Humboldt County) Chapter

Meeting: (Usually third Thursday) Meet at Chan's at

359 G Street in Arcata at 7:00 PM. For information on

upcoming meeting dates and times, contact Christina

Huskey at 707/444-6595.

BY TOM SIMPSON,

CHAPTER CHAIR

fter several years of inactivity, the

Fresno ACLU-Chapter has re-

emerged from hibernation. The

process began last summer when teacher

Tom Simpson and fledgling attorney Bob

Hirth saw a notice in the ACLU News look-

ing for Fresno-area people interested in

ISSUES.

reactivating the chapter. The two met with

Field Representative Lisa Maldonado who

journeyed to Fresno, and a plan was born.

After several months of working around

the schedules of a teacher and a new solo

practice litigator, the first organizing meet-

ing was called in September. Thirty people

showed up at Fresno's Center for Non-

Violence; their presence and enthusiasm

proved to the organizers that there is defi-

nitely community interest in having an

ACLU Chapter. Civil liberties supporters in

Fresno identified key local issues, including

Drug-Sniffing ... |

Continued from page 6 |

|

Zealand, Canada and all across the U.S.

There was one that said, `No kidding! I'm |

in my school library, because my classroom |

is being searched right now." |

Reed's site also includes an essay he |

wrote for his Criminal Justice class about |

refusing to allow his belongings to be |

sniffed; a letter from his mother to -

Interquest (the drug-sniffing dog compa- _

ny Galt hired); a letter from Interquest |

responding to his mother; the ACLU-NC |

press release on the lawsuit; and links to |

news articles about drug dogs. |

|

The website will not be Reed's last effort |

Fresno Activists

Revive Local Chapter

the separation of church and state in local

government (particularly the City's use of

tax dollars to fund the Promise Keepers

conclave at Fresno State), free speech and

assembly rights of students, and prisoner

rights in the county jail. In addition, people

were concerned about the right to breast

feed in public (now codified in a state law

which went into effect on January 1), gay

Howarb WATKINS

The newly revitalized Fresno Chapter readies itself for action in local civil liberties -

and lesbian rights and censorship in schools

and libraries.

At the November meeting, the mem-

bers elected officers to who will serve until

the General Election required by the

ACLU-NC Chapter by-laws and scheduled

monthly meetings on the fourth Tuesday

each month at 7:00 PM at the Center For

Non-Violence.

The Chapter launched a letter-writing

campaign challenging city funding of reli-

gious events. For more information, please

call Bob Hirth at 209/225 6223 (days). Hl

to further privacy rights. He is now attend-

ing Delta College and aims to study criminal

law and become a public defender.

Uniform Lawsuit ...

Continued from page 7

Legislature in 1994; the law gives parents

an absolute right to refuse to participate

and also mandates financial assistance for

those who need it.

The parents are represented by ACLU-

NC staff attorney Ann Brick and cooperat-

ing attorneys Jeffrey Williams and Bruce |

Wagman of the law firm of Morgenstein and

Jubelirer. :

Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting: (Usually

first Wednesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Java City in

Sutter Galleria (between 29 and 30, J and K Streets) in

Sacramento. For more information, contact Ruth Ordas

at 916/488-9955.

San Francisco Chapter Meeting: (Third Tuesday)

Meet at 6:45 PM at the ACLU-NC Office, 1663 Mission

Street, Suite #460, San Francisco. New members meet

ing coming up. For more information, call the Chapter

Information Line at 415/979-6699.

Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting: (Usually

first Tuesday) Meet at 7:00 PM at the Community Bank

Towers, Ist Floor Conference Room, 111 West St. John

Street, San Jose. For further chapter information contact

Jon Cox at 408/293-2584.

Santa Cruz County Chapter Meeting: (Usually

third Monday) Meet at 7:15 PM. For more information,

contact Dianne Vaillancourt at 408/454-0112.

Sonoma County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM at the Peace and Justice Center,

540 Pacific Avenue, Santa Rosa. Join us for our

Annual Dinner on Saturday, February 28 at

Sebastopol Veterans Auditorium, 282 High Street, at 6 p.m.

Call Judith Volkart at 707/526-2893 for more information.

ACLU News = JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1998 = PacE 8

Yolo County Chapter Meeting: (Usually third

Tuesday) Meet at 7:30 PM, 2505 Sth Street 154, Davis.

The chapter is very active on issues concerning local cur-

fews, free speech rights, housing authority, and discrimi-

nation. For more information, call Natalie Wormeli at

916/756-1900 or the Chapter Hotline at 916/756-

ACLU.

Chapters Reorganizing

If you are interested in reviving the Mt. Diablo or

North Valley Chapter, please contact Field

Representative Lisa Maldonado at 415/621-2493.

Field Action

Meetings

(All meetings except those noted will be held at the ACLU-

NC Office, 1663 Mission Street, 460, San Francisco.)

Student Outreach Committee: Meet to plan out:

reach activities. For more information, contact Nancy Otto

at 415/621-2006 ext. 37.

Student Advisory Committee: For more informo-

tion, contact Nancy Otto at 415/621-2006 ext. 37. i