In response to a letter from the New York Civil Liberties Union, the administration of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan has affirmed the right of students to determine the content of a student-run newsletter.

Police arrested or ticketed about 14 students each day in New York City public schools from October through December, according to NYPD data released today by the New York Civil Liberties Union and its partners in the Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York. About 94 percent of students arrested were black or Latino; 75 percent were male.

The New York Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Rochester Board of Education’s decision to make condoms available to city high school students. “This new policy will help keep our teens healthy and safe,” said KaeLyn Rich, director of the NYCLU’s Genesee Valley Chapter. “It is an important step in providing Rochester's young people the tools they need to protect their sexual and reproductive health.”

The Bloomberg administration’s over-reliance on suspensions and police in public schools harms the ability of the most vulnerable New York City children to succeed academically, and disproportionately affects black students and students with special needs, the New York Civil Liberties Union argued today in testimony before the New York City Council.

Police arrested or ticketed approximately four students each day in New York City public schools from July through September, according to a New York Civil Liberties Union analysis of new NYPD data. About 94 percent of students arrested were black or Latino; nearly 83 percent were male.

The New York Civil Liberties Union today called on NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly to stop delaying and comply with the Student Safety Act, a law that requires the Police Department to release quarterly reports detailing its activity in city schools. The NYPD has missed two consecutive reporting deadlines.

New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman tonight issued the following statement in response to filings by the Department of Education pursuant to the Student Safety Act.

The New York Civil Liberties Union today applauded the New York City Department of Education’s announcement that it will mandate sex-education classes for middle and high school students beginning this fall.

In testimony tonight on the discipline code for New York City public schools, the New York Civil Liberties Union will encourage the Department of Education’s ongoing efforts to include positive-discipline practices in the city’s schools – but will caution that the DOE’s disciplinary code and zero-tolerance policies criminalize student discipline and discriminate unfairly against students of color and those with special needs.

At a New York City Council hearing today on bullying and bias-based harassment in city schools, the New York Civil Liberties Union urged council members to actively monitor the city Department of Education’s implementation of the Dignity for All Students Act – a statewide anti-bullying measure that takes effect in July 2012.