Sometimes, the wrong thing is going on in broad daylight, but you don't notice it, really, because that's just the way things have always been.
A message left from a parent on our legal intake line expressing concern about the costs of attending public school got us curious. We took a cursory glance at school websites throughout the state, and found a stunning laundry list of fees levied at public schools for everything from textbooks to lab supplies, even though the California Supreme Court made clear more than 20 years ago that such fees violated the state constitution.
Digging deeper, we heard heartbreaking tales from parents and students of humiliating public shaming by school administrators and teachers trying to force payment.
That's not only illegal; it's also just plain wrong.  So, we got to work.
We filed our statewide class-action lawsuit challenging school fees in September, and reached a settlement yesterday. In lawsuit time, that's warp speed.
Our nation's public schools represent the highest and most revolutionary ideal of American democracy – that through education open on an equal basis to all, regardless of class and social status, every child can achieve his or her full potential as consequence of merit and hard work.
Free public schools are the machinery by which the American dream is made accessible to all. More to the point, in California it's a constitutionally-ordained machinery, and has been since 1879. The state supreme court confirmed this in 1984.
Yet public schools continued charging students for basic, mandated necessities -- a practice so ubiquitous most never thought to question a demand for $2 to use a protractor here or a fee to take a test there. Download a pdf of our Pay To Learn report for a look at how just how widespread this is. Then  watch "Jason Roe" and his mother discuss their struggles trying to keep up with the ballooning costs of what is supposed to be a free education.
These illegal school fees discriminate against lower-income families, who should not have their children penalized and denied access to classes and school programs just because they're not wealthy.
Yesterday's settlement will stop that. Under the settlement, the State will seek legislation clarifying that all school fees charged to families, be they for mandated academic course materials or equipment and uniforms required for extracurricular activities such as sports or bands. The settlement also provides an annual audit and enforcement process, with meaningful accountability systems including financial penalties for school districts that persist in charging students illegal fees.  Parents also will be able to file complaints to challenge the imposition of fees as they arise.
We will ask the Court to give preliminary approval for the settlement to go forward, and then we will get to work seeking passage of the legislation.
Although this settlement will ensure school districts do not charge fees in the future, it is important to keep in mind the context in which public schools are operating today.  The fact that public schools felt free to pursue this plainly illegal funding speaks to the broad dysfunction that is California's system of financing public schools. Instead of ensuring that schools are provided the resources necessary for a free and equal education, our state has repeatedly slashed public school funding, leaving educators to scramble desperately for funding sources - any funding sources - even if that source involves shaming a child in front of her classmates.
California used to be the crown jewel of the nation's public education system. Now we're at the bottom of the barrel. That's why it's critical to advocate to ensure our public schools receive from the State the resources necessary to provide every student an opportunity to succeed, regardless of their socioeconomic status.
The price of democracy is eternal vigilance, not whatever textbooks are retailing for on Amazon.
This suit settled so fast because everyone involved in this effort realized fixing this problem was the right thing to do. This swift resolution is a tribute to Gov. Schwarzenegger, Education Secretary Bonnie Reiss and State Board of Education President Ted Mitchell.
We are also grateful to our partners in this effort - the ACLU of Northern California, the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, and the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, LLP.
"The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave." -- Thomas Jefferson.

In the latest episode in one of the more bizarre story arcs of America’s death penalty, on Monday the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation revealed (under court order) that the source of their mysterious supply of lethal injection drugs was Archimedes Pharma, the same British firm that supplied the drugs Arizona used to execute Jeffrey Landrigan.

They also revealed that they paid over $36,000 to a wholesaler for a massive stockpile of the drug.

But let’s back up – like any good drama, you can’t jump in mid-season. So here’s the recap: Every death penalty state in the U.S. uses sodium thiopental to kill people and only one company in the U.S. actually makes it, Illinois-based Hospira, Inc. Earlier this year, supply problems led to a shortage, with Hospira saying they were out until early 2011 and states’ stockpiles nearing expiration. The machinery of death almost ground to a halt, with some states putting executions on hold, but others tried to change the law to allow other sorts of lethal injection drugs, or to enable them to get the drugs from other states and even foreign suppliers not approved by the FDA.

Naturally, importing lethal poison for the purpose of capital punishment could raise some eyebrows, so it’s not too surprising that states did everything they could to keep it from the public. Oversight from the people can be problematic, after all. Corrections officials in Texas tried (unsuccessfully) to have the information deemed a state secret, and today remain in violation of an order from the state Attorney General by refusing to disclose their supplier. In a glaring example of big government judicial activism, Arizona actually got the Supreme Court to essentially sign off on its program of secrecy, paving the way for the state to kill Jeffrey Landrigan using drugs from an undisclosed source.

When California got ahold of some of this mystery supply, they weren’t as lucky as Arizona was on the judicial front. Corrections officials admitted that at least some of the information should be made public, but simply ignored their legal responsibility to disclose it in the face of a Public Records Act request.

It took a lawsuit from the ACLU before they would finally disclose, and even then they waited until they were good and ready. Now we know why. California officials finally revealed that their first batch of poison was supplied by its good neighbors in Arizona, and that they also put in one last order -- for half a kilo -- to the U.K. firm that had supplied Arizona with its doses of killer drugs.

While California was trying to grease the wheels of the death penalty, grassroots activists all over the world – including Change.org members – were joining the British human rights agency Reprieve in calling on the U.K. government to uphold its anti-death penalty stance by stopping the export of sodium thiopental. Corrections officials were trying to beat the clock by getting as much of the drug as they possibly could before the ban, and obviously couldn’t be fettered by anything as trivial as transparency.

But according to Reprieve, there’s even more to this soap opera. It turns out the $36 grand California paid for the drug was a smidge above market value – a 3,500 perccent markup, to be exact. Market value for their half kilo should have been about a thousand dollars. Reprieve calls the mark up “blood money” and suggests that California is poised to distribute their stockpile to other states around the country. It certainly seems like a wise investment for cash-strapped California.

We can’t feed the people of this state, but by gum we can kill them. Reprieve is calling on Business Secretary Vince Cable to intervene. After only recently imposing a ban on the export of lethal injection drugs (just after California placed its order), he can contact U.S. officials and request that the shipment not be allowed to reach its destination. Activists here, meanwhile, need to keep the pressure on Hospira, as the U.S. manufacturer has indicated that its supplies will be back on track early next year. Send them a message urging them to refuse to help states put people to death.

LOS ANGELES-The California affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union announced a settlement today with the State of California that will establish a comprehensive monitoring and enforcement system to ensure school districts do not unlawfully charge fees to students for educational activities.

The settlement, which requires court approval, is contingent on enactment of legislation that would empower students and parents to use the existing Williams Uniform Complaint Process to identify, and receive reimbursement for, illegal school fees and that would amend the annual independent audits of school districts to determine if schools collected illegal fees.

“This is a historic settlement that puts an end once and for all to the pay to learn system,” said Mark Rosenbaum, chief counsel of the ACLU/SC. “This agreement means all students have an equal opportunity to achieve their dreams irrespective of their families’ financial circumstances. The ACLU thanks Governor Schwarzenegger, Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss and the State Board of Education for facilitating a quick resolution of this case.”

Under the legislation, if auditors find a district charged illegal fees, the district would be required to fully reimburse parents or suffer a financial penalty. Furthermore, parents would be able to challenge illegal fees immediately through the complaint process that provides for local resolution within 30 working days.

“Charging students illegal fees discriminates against lower-income children and violates their constitutional right to a free education,” said Assembly member Ricardo Lara. “Families are unable to afford these fees and their children’s education suffers due to financial hardship.”

"The settlement reached today protects California students' right to a truly free public education," said Morrison & Foerster partner Dan Marmalefsky. "We are pleased that the State has acknowledged the unlawfulness of these fees and agreed to take steps to prevent future violations of this fundamental constitutional right."

The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, followed an investigation by the ACLU/SC that uncovered a widespread practice among school districts of forcing students to purchase textbooks, workbooks, and assigned novels in order to matriculate in academic courses. School districts also charged lab fees for participation in science classes. The suit alleged that this discriminating practice against lower-income children creates an unfair system where only the wealthy are able to afford an education that is constitutionally supposed to be free to all regardless of economic status.

The California affiliates involved in the case are the ACLU affiliates in Southern California, Northern California, and San Diego and Imperial Counties. The law firm Morrison & Foerster is co-counsel for the plaintiffs in the suit.