Category Archives: Student and Youth Rights

We had an ambitious legislative agenda entering into the 2019 session and are happy to announce a series of successes. First, we championed legislation that will fund for the first time in our state's history, comprehensive sex education for schools seeking to adopt such a curriculum. We were able to champion legislation that will bring some relief to our immigrant friends and neighbors and advanced legislation that will reform aspects of our cruel bail system. You made this happen and we thank you.... | Read More

  DENVER – The Colorado Legislature gave final approval last night to HB 1329, a bill to bring systematic change to the Division of Youth Corrections (DYC). HB 1329 will increase transparency within DYC and create a 2-year pilot program focused on treatment and rehabilitation of kids without the use of punitive measures, such as solitary confinement, mechanical restraints, and pain compliance. The Division of Youth Corrections will also be renamed the Division of Youth Services and the.... | Read More

Coalition calls for a new approach based on highly-successful Missouri model Denver, CO (3/2/17) – Violence in Colorado’s Division of Youth Corrections (DYC) facilities has risen dramatically in recent years, and the common use of punitive measures, including pain compliance, knee strikes, solitary confinement, and a full-body straitjacket called the WRAP have created a culture of violence that is failing Colorado’s troubled youth, according to a new report released today by the Colorado.... | Read More

3/15/16 DENVER – Tonight, the Douglas County School District will consider a second school voucher program that would divert public taxpayer dollars to secular, private schools inside and outside of the district.  Last June, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the district’s original voucher program was unconstitutional because it diverted public money to private, religious schools. “The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado opposes the redirection of taxpayer money to private.... | Read More

June 29, 2015 DENVER - Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado are applauding a decision today by the Colorado Supreme Court striking down a Douglas County school voucher program that had allowed taxpayer dollars to flow directly to religious schools. In a decision announced this morning, Colorado’s highest court ruled that the county’s so-called “Choice Scholarship Pilot Program” violates.... | Read More

December 12, 2014 DENVER - The Colorado Division of Youth Corrections (DYC), in close collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, recently adopted a landmark policy regarding the treatment of LGBTQI youth in the department’s care, including transgender and intersex youth. The new policy will ensure that DYC staff is properly trained to meet the needs of transgender and intersex youth, that appropriate healthcare will be provided to them, that housing and search decisions.... | Read More

DENVER – Eight national and local organizations, including the National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, wrote the Jefferson County School Board today in opposition to the board’s proposed review of the curriculum for Advanced Placement U.S. History. School board members have proposed a new “board committee for curriculum review” with a stated mission to “promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system,.... | Read More

DENVER - Members of the Jefferson County School Board have proposed a new “board committee for curriculum review” with a stated mission to “promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights.”  According to the board’s proposal, “Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law. Instructional materials should present positive aspects of the United.... | Read More

Prepared Remarks of ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley on CO House Bill 1048, Concerning Religious Freedom for Student Groups at State Institutions of Higher Learning. Thank you, Madame Chair and members of the Committee. My name is Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, Executive Director of the ACLU of Colorado, and I speak in opposition to House Bill 1048. This bill would force Colorado public universities to recognize and support student groups that discriminate in violation.... | Read More

May 6, 2013 The Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) issued an investigation report last Friday citing numerous violations of child care regulations, including the use of solitary confinement on children, at El Pueblo Boys and Girls Ranch and ordering the facility to suspend operation of its so-called “reflection cottages.” The investigation, which was prompted by an April 11 letter from the ACLU of Colorado, confirmed that children at the facility, including those with mental.... | Read More