“Police violence should never be a tool to crush dissent. We deeply disapprove of university leaders’ decisions to deploy state police and nonsensical disciplinary charges against student demonstrators," said ACLU-VA Executive Director Mary Bauer.

“Universities are charged with creating environments that encourage students to exercise their First Amendment rights – not ones that have license to violate students’ civil rights and civil liberties,” said ACLU-VA Executive Director Mary Bauer.

Spotsylvania County School Board voted 4-3 this week to enact a policy empowering members and the superintendent to ban books they deem “sexually explicit.”

Mass surveillance technologies make all Virginians less free. The ones HB 1437 and SB 1165 seek to implement would allow law enforcement to use ‘automatic license plate readers’ to collect data on every car that drives by.

In a victory for free speech and religious liberty, the After School Satan Club (ASSC) held its first meeting tonight at B.M. Williams Primary School, despite efforts by some to shut down the club and prevent it from gaining equal access to school facilities.

The ACLU of Virginia filed a motion seeking leave to file an amicus curiae brief in the Circuit Court for the city of Richmond in support of Connor Bleakley and Sami Alsawaf calling on the court to strike down the fee and residency requirements in Virginia Code 20-25 as unconstitutional.  

On August 30, 2022, a judge rejected an effort to label two books as obscene and illegal to sell or lend in the state of Virginia. “The First Amendment protects literary expression, even when some people find portions of the works difficult or objectionable," said Matt Callahan.

The ACLU-VA  opposes the VDOE's proposed model policies that will only exacerbate an alarming trend toward classroom censorship, all while denying students the opportunity to be inspired by stories of people from all walks of life trying to live authentically in school curriculum.

The ACLU of Virginia filed an amicus brief in support of West Point School Board against a teacher who refused to call a trans student by the correct pronouns. It's the teacher's job to provide an inclusive environment for all students. Free speech is not an excuse to discriminate.