News & Commentary

I recently watched a segment of the PBS documentary Brains on Trial titled “Deciding Punishment.”Through the use of a fictional trial, this segment explored the relationship between neuroscience and our current criminal justice system. It paid special attention to the development of the adolescent brains and how its affects decision making, revealing how its immaturity makes young people more likely to act in an impulsive and foolish manner they may later regret.

Nine years ago, Congress passed a law establishing September 17th as “Constitution Day” and requiring all schools that receive federal funding to observe the new holiday by providing educational programming on that day about the history of the U.S. Constitution.

With a new school year upon us, the ACLU of Maine is eager to begin our work educating students about the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Last year we reached 41 schools in all 16 counties, with more than 1,650 students taking part in our workshops. We’re hoping to top that this year, and as we’ve done in the past we’ll be kicking things off with a series of Bill of Rights Student Conferences this fall.

One of the ACLU's largest and most pressing issues is the problem of overincarceration, and we are focused on criminal justice reform and the reduction of recidivism. Most people interested in such things have heard of the term "the revolving door." This proverbial door symbolizes the perpetual cycle for convicted people through the phases of our flawed justice system: get caught, receive your sentence, do time, leave jail with little financial, emotional or education support, repeat the behavior, etc. This revolving door assures that from the very moment that the judge pronounces you guilty (or even before that) your chances of returning to jail or prison increase by a staggering 43% within the next three years according to a 2011 study. This is simply not an acceptable statistic for a nation, and only contributes to other dismal statistics such as prison costs, unemployment and homelessness. Our judicial system cannot continue as it has, while people continnue to cycle through jails and prisons.

We went into the 126th Legislature with a plan: to bring Maine's privacy laws up to speed with advancing technology. To that end, we proposed a 5-bill privacy package with bipartisan sponsorship. And while it was an uphill battle the whole way, we were successful in winning privacy protections and standing up for the 4th Amendment! 

Recently, a school in Wood County, West Virginia agreed to abolish for two years its single-sex education practice in which boys and girls were segregated to separate classrooms. This was after legal action was levied by the ACLU on behalf of a Wood County family who believed the program was sexist. This recent occurrence brings an interesting and little discussed topic to light: single-sex education. If you are from the Northeast and not West Virginia, perhaps the phrase evokes scenes of prim girls in skirts learning needlepoint or dour faced Choate boys before the Rosemary Hall addition.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division announced a resolution clarifying that a California public school must provide a transgender student with access to facilities consistent with his gender identity. Under the agreement, the student must be allowed to participate in all school-related activities and programs in line with his gender identity - in other words, if he wants to join the boys soccer team, he can.This resolution is a great step forward in the fight for trans rights. Notably, the government acknowledges that discrimination against trans people is in fact gender-based discrimination, and thus impermissible under Title IX.You can read the full agreement here.

Late last week, the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives blocked a floor vote on the Student Non-Discrimination Act, a bill that would create a comprehensive prohibition against discrimination of LGBT students in our public schools. That such an important piece of legislation would not even be allowed to go to the floor for a vote is very disappointing. As frustrating as this latest development is, however, it’s not the end of the Student Non-Discrimination Act. We will be back, and in time LGBT students will get the equality that they so deserve. Every student deserves the opportunity to benefit equally from a quality public education that is free of discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. While the leadership of the House succeeded in blocking a floor vote this time, they weren’t able to stop representatives from speaking out on the House floor to express their own personal disappointment. It was heartening to see that so many members of Congress would be willing to stand up for LGBT students in this way, and it further adds to our confidence that the bill will one day become law. The need for this legislation remains as vital as ever, not just nationwide but here in Maine too. A recent report by GLSEN found that 8 in 10 LGBT students in Maine experienced verbal harassment in school, 3 in 10 were physically harassed based on their sexual orientation, and nearly 9 in 10 regularly heard other students in their school make negative remarks about how someone expressed their gender. These numbers are unacceptable and they demand action. Once the new school year begins, we’ll be traveling around the state to educate students about their rights here in Maine under the new anti-bullying law. Thankfully there are laws in place to protect students who are bullied or harassed at school, but they don’t go far enough. The Student Non-Discrimination Act is the single most important step Congress could take to improve the lives of LGBT students, and we won’t stop pressuring them until they pass it – no matter how many setbacks there are along the way.

Another school year is in the books, and for the ACLU of Maine it was our busiest ever. Our education program reached 41 different schools this year – representing all 16 counties – and we taught more than 1,650 students about the importance and relevance of the Bill of Rights.   Educating young people from all corners of Maine is a major part of our education program and we’re excited to have reached every county this year. We go anywhere in the state that will have us, no matter how small the class or how rural the school. This year we traveled as far north as Fort Kent and as far south as York, logging well over 4,000 miles on the road. We drove to Greenville, Houlton, Searsport, Dover-Foxcroft, Jonesport, and many other small towns, as well as the more populated areas like Portland and Bangor. In addition to our classroom visits, we also hosted a series of all-day conferences where students attended multiple workshops on a range of topics. From free speech to privacy to equal protection and due process, we’re uniquely equipped to teach about the Bill of Rights and to show young people just how relevant the Constitution is to their lives.   Maine is a big state and connecting with schools in every county takes a true team effort. Between our student conferences and our classroom visits, we led 119 workshops this year, with presenters literally coming from all corners of the ACLU of Maine. Staffers, board members, lawyers from our legal panel, and volunteers all gave up their time this year to educate young people about what the Bill of Rights says and how it applies to their lives.   Like any teacher will tell you, the summer is never quite the vacation it’s cracked up to be. For us, the next few months provide a great chance to update our lesson plans and create new resources for students and teachers to better appreciate and understand the Bill of Rights. We’ve already begun planning for our student conferences in the fall, so if you’re interested in attending keep checking back for more information in the months ahead. It’s always exciting to talk about the Constitution with young people, and we’re already looking forward to getting back at it this fall!