The Detroit Free Press reported on the ACLU of Michigan’s lawsuit challenging an effort by the state to bar benefits for same-sex couples when one of the partners work for the state. ACLU of Illinois attorney John Knight is arguing the case along with attorney Amanda Goad from the National ACLU office.

“This is not about politics or ideology for us,” Peter Ways, an Ann Arbor teacher whose partner will lose his benefits, said when the suit was filed. “This is about real families who are facing the real consequences of discriminatory laws. Just like our colleagues whose families will continue to receive health insurance, we want to care for our families.”

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The Associated Press reported that the ACLU of Louisiana is objecting to a policy at a Charter school that requires girls to take pregnancy tests if they are suspected of being pregnant and keeps pregnant students out of the classroom; threatening to sue if the policies don’t change. This is a violation of students’ rights, which the both the National ACLU and the ACLU of Louisiana executive director Marjorie R. Esman support.

"I haven't heard of this anywhere else," Esman said Tuesday. "And I hope there isn't another school anywhere on the planet that has a policy like this."

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The Chicago Tribune reported on a national study that says Illinois has the highest suspension rates for African-American students out of the 47 states included in the study. The ACLU of Illinois believes that every student, regaurdless of race, deserves fair treatment in their public school.

One of every 4 African-American public school students in Illinois was suspended at least once for disciplinary reasons during the 2009-10 school year, the highest rate among 47 states examined in a national study released Tuesday.

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