Press Releases

Press requests should be directed to media@aclupa.org.

ACLU-PA Files Federal Complaint Alleging Widespread Discrimination in Central Bucks School District

The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a complaint today with the United States Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of seven students in Central Bucks School District who allege a widespread culture of discrimination against TLGBQIA+ students, particularly trans students.

ACLU of Pa. Announces Settlement With City of Harrisburg Over Public Event Permits, Allowing Climate Festival to go Forward

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Better Path Coalition announced an interim settlement today with the city of Harrisburg that lifts most of the city’s conditions for the coalition’s Pennsylvania Climate Convergence in June.
Issue Areas: First Amendment Rights

ACLU-PA Sues City of Harrisburg Over Event Permitting Process, Alleging 1st Amendment Violations

The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Harrisburg, alleging that the city violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments by forcing climate activists to navigate a burdensome and expensive permitting process in order to hold a festival and peaceful march.
Issue Areas: First Amendment Rights

Supreme Court Decision Rules to Protect Students’ Full Free Speech Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Mahanoy Area School District v B.L. today in a decision that reaffirmed the importance of free speech rights of young people and students across the country.

ACLU-PA Sues Montgomery County for Denying Its Lawyers Access to People in the Jail

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a federal lawsuit today alleging that Montgomery County violated the ACLU-PA’s First Amendment rights by denying ACLU lawyers access to people held in the county jail.
Issue Areas: First Amendment Rights

ACLU Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Protect Students’ First Amendment Rights When They’re Out of School

In a case from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union argued before the United States Supreme Court today that public school students should have the right to freely express themselves when they are off-campus and away from school activities.

ACLU-PA Lawsuit Accuses Philadelphia School Board of Violating the Sunshine Act

Two community groups filed suit today against the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia, saying that the board’s new policy limiting public comment at meetings violates the state Sunshine Act.

U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear ACLU-PA Student Free Speech Case

The United States Supreme Court announced late yesterday that it has granted a Schuylkill County school district’s request to hear a case in which the school punished a student for online speech that occurred off-campus on a weekend.

ACLU-PA Submits Complaint to United Nations Regarding Philadelphia Police Violence at Black Lives Matter Protests

Alongside the Stern Community Lawyering Clinic at Kline School of Law at Drexel University, the ACLU of Pennsylvania sent a letter of complaint to the United Nations, detailing the use of violence and excessive force by police against Black Lives Matter protesters in May and June of 2020.