New Guide: Know Your Rights: A Manual for Public School Students in Pennsylvania

Posted by on January 15, 2007

Every year, the ACLU of Pennsylvania receives hundreds of calls from young people, parents, teachers, and administrators asking questions about the rights and responsibilities of students in our public schools. To help answer those questions, we have updated a valuable resource called Know Your Rights: A Manual for Public School Students in Pennsylvania. The new manual is available for free to individuals, schools, and organizations across the state.

Know Your Rights uses a question and answer format to educate students about their rights and responsibilities within the public school system. It also offers information about the types of activities for which students may be disciplined. It is a helpful reference for anyone interested in knowing more about the rights of young people. The manual covers topics ranging from freedom of expression and freedom of religion to discrimination, equal protection, and privacy issues.

Take a look! The student rights manual text is on the ACLU website and also available in PDF format at: http://www.aclupa.org/education/studentsrightsmanual. Schools and organizations may also order up to 50 hard copies of the manual by completing this order form. Order forms may be faxed to: 215.592.1343.

The ACLU of PA also offers speakers for student groups, teacher in-service trainings, parent-teacher association meetings, library teen programs, or other gatherings. To arrange for a speaker to talk about student rights and responsibilities, e-mail: education@aclupa.org or call the ACLU office nearest to you. Our experienced staff and trained volunteers deliver engaging, interactive presentations free of charge, tailored to the interests of your group.

Do you know of other groups or organizations that may want to know about the student rights manual? Please assist us by forwarding this information or telling us of groups we might contact. We would also like to link our online manual to relevant websites, so please let us know if you have a website that could provide a link to the manual. You can also link to our MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/student_rights_in_pa.

Know Your Rights: A Manual for Public School Students in Pennsylvania will enable people to better understand and protect the rights of students in our public schools. As PA residents educate themselves and each other about student rights and responsibilities, we can expect stronger schools and more civic-minded young people. So, view the manual online, order copies of it, invite a speaker, and let us hear from you. Thank you for helping to share information about student rights in our state.