Ahead of next Wednesday’s planned walk-outs at high schools across Utah and the nation, the ACLU of Utah is organizing a special training workshop for students and their allies on Monday, March 12, at 4pm MT.
This will be a Utah-specific discussion of students' rights led by ACLU of Utah staff attorney Leah Farrell, along with more than dozen student leaders from local high schools.
The workshop will be broadcast on Facebook Live starting at 4pm MT.
"Many students incorrectly assume that they 'shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,'” said Brittney Nystrom, Executive Director of the ACLU of Utah. “But the reality is that students have broad latitude to exercise their First Amendment rights in school and in the public square, and our organization is glad to spread knowledge of civil liberties and encourage civic engagement."
This will be a Utah-specific discussion of students' rights led by ACLU of Utah staff attorney Leah Farrell, along with more than dozen student leaders from local high schools.
"Many students incorrectly assume that they 'shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,'” said Brittney Nystrom, Executive Director of the ACLU of Utah. “But the reality is that students have broad latitude to exercise their First Amendment rights in school and in the public square, and our organization is glad to spread knowledge of civil liberties and encourage civic engagement."
Questions to be addressed during the workhop include;
-Can students be suspended for unexcused absences from school?
-Do students have the right to right to speak out or hand out flyers and petitions during school hours?
-What constitutes "disrupting the functioning of the school?”
-Can students be punished more severely for speech that the administration disagrees with?
Students' Rights: Speech, Walkouts, and Other Protests
An interactive workshop by the ACLU of Utah on Facebook Live
Monday, March 12, 2018
Time: 4-5 p.m. MT
Organizer: ACLU of Utah
Video of the Workshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTS04F5GihU
Overview:
A special live-stream presentation of "Know Your Rights" training with ACLU of Utah staff attorney, Leah Farrell, and a dozen student activists from local Utah high schools. This is your chance to brush up on students' rights in school and in the public square... and ask questions to ACLU staff and students leaders from around the state.
ACLU Students’ Rights Webpage: https://www.acluutah.org/about-us/item/1424-students-rights-speech-walkouts-and-other-protests-3-12-18
Media contact:
Jason Stevenson
ACLU of Utah
Strategic Communications Manager
jstevenson@acluutah.org
(cell) 617-290-8188
(office) 801-871 0334
