LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California today named Heather Carrigan as Chief Operating Officer.

In this newly created position, which reports directly to Executive Director Ramona Ripston, Carrigan will manage the day-to-day operations of both organizations, including the coordination of the work of departments and facilitation of policy and advocacy positions. Carrigan will also help the development of annual goals, long range plans and make changes to the current organizational structure to make the organization more effective as it grows.

'With the support of my tremendous staff, the ACLU of Southern California has been able to grow exponentially and better defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights especially during this time of unprecedented civil liberties and civil rights abuses,' Ripston said. 'Heather's keen judgment, strong leadership and comprehensive understanding of ACLU issues has made her a valued member of my management team for many years. As our new COO she will help make our organization even stronger."

Carrigan started with the ACLU/SC in 1997 as Special Policy Assistant to the Executive Director, where she researched and analyzed issues, prepared testimony, opinion pieces and speeches and represented the Executive Director before legislative bodies and in coalition meetings.

In 1999, Carrigan was promoted to Director of Public Policy, a position she has held until now. In this capacity, she oversaw the policy and field work of the organization, working on key campaigns such as legislation to combat racial profiling, expand domestic partner rights, curtail enforcement of the death penalty, create access to higher education for undocumented California graduates, and many more. And she served on Executive Committees of statewide ballot initiatives, including the successful Proposition 54 campaign defeating Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action classification initiative, and the anti-choice Proposition 73.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my nine years of work at the ACLU of Southern California, the most progressive and effective ACLU in the country," said Carrigan. "The ACLU/SC's vision is what brought me here nine years ago and I am truly honored to have this opportunity to further that vision with Ramona and the Boards of Directors."

During her tenure as Policy Director, Carrigan grew the department from a staff of one to seven. With her very able staff she developed and designed a customized, open source database website and initiated the first affiliate web-based action alert system, which now has the largest number of ACLU e-activists in any state. Carrigan has also been responsible for overseeing the communications strategies for all litigation and non-litigation advocacy. She will continue to manage the media work of the organization in her new role.

Prior to coming to the ACLU/SC Carrigan worked as an advocate for the homeless and as a Policy Associate of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

ORANGE, Calif. - The ACLU of Southern California and the Fullerton School District announced an agreement today that will ensure equal access to a public school program that requires certain students and their families to purchase laptop computers.

The settlement, which was announced after four months of talks, will allow parents at the 20 schools in the Fullerton district to choose whether or not a school should participate in the Laptops for Learning Program. If a majority of families decide to implement the program at a particular school, parents may either pay nearly $1,500 for a Macintosh G4 laptop or they will be able to borrow one from the district.

Hector Villagra, director of the ACLU of Southern California's Orange County office, said modifications to the existing program ensure that it is fair and equitable.

"We're pleased to have worked out a way for families to participate fully in the laptop program even if, for whatever reason, they choose not to buy computers," Villagra said.

Under the settlement, the program can be initiated if the total number of families that voluntarily lease computers through lease/purchase agreements, those that qualify to buy computers through grants, and those loaned computers purchased by the school with federal, state and local funds, not including the district's general fund, equals 90 percent. The district will then provide the remaining 10 percent of students with computers to borrow. Students will have equal access to computers during the school year regardless of whether they purchased or borrowed them.

Several parents alerted the ACLU about the program, concerned that the fee for computers violated the state constitutional guarantee of a free public education. The parents filed suit in Orange County Superior Court Thursday morning and will seek court approval of the proposed settlement. The settlement also creates a fund for parents seeking reimbursement for past participation in the program. The Orange County Superior Court will oversee the settlement for the next five years.

LOS ANGELES - In support of a resolution Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nu�ez (D-Los Angeles) will present today in the state legislature urging Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes a path to legalization, the ACLU of Southern California issues this statement:

The following statement can be attributed to Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California.

For more than three decades the ACLU of Southern California has supported humane immigration law that recognizes the contributions immigrants make to our society by advocating a path to legalization, protecting family unity and ensuring that immigrants are treated fairly in the judicial system.

Hundreds of thousands of people here in Southern California have joined millions more throughout the United States in peaceful protest to urge Congress and the President to adopt comprehensive immigration reform. Efforts to criminalize immigrants contradict the spirit of our Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the principles on which this country was founded.

As Congress continues to evaluate immigration reform proposals, the ACLU of Southern California calls upon elected representatives to:

' Ensure equal protection. Preserve the individual rights and liberties of every person, regardless of immigration status, as guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

' Preserve due process of law for all by ensuring a fair and equitable legalization process through access to courts and meaningful judicial review.

' Reject indefinite detention. Locking up asylum seekers, torture victims and other immigrants who have no just means to fight their cases is inhumane and does not serve to make our country safer.

' Protect the privacy of all workers.

' Maintain a divide between federal immigration enforcement and local law enforcement. When those lines are clearly drawn all communities are safer.

Any fair immigration reform must include a path to legalization. Dehumanizing hard-working families by criminalizing them just for living here is un-American. Without a path to legalization, undocumented immigrants will remain vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of their status.

As a staunch supporter of individual liberty and equality, the ACLU of Southern California supports a compassionate approach to immigration reform that will not undermine constitutional freedoms. Immigrants continue to contribute to our growing economy as well as the social fabric of the United States and our laws must reflect that.