LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Unified School District recently announced a new policy that will better protect students' free speech rights, set specific parameters for military recruiters on public school campuses and protect the privacy rights of students who do not want to be contacted by the military.

The new policy comes after discussions with the ACLU of Southern California and a committee of Los Angeles teachers on behalf of parents and students in the district.

"Parents and students are concerned that they are being targeted by recruiters while at school and that they have little defense against the military's strong-arm tactics," said Ranjana Natarajan, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California. "School districts like LAUSD are acting responsibly by updating their policies on military recruiting to better protect students' free speech and privacy rights."

The LAUSD approved the new eight-page policy late last month and just made it available to district employees. The policy addresses numerous concerns that students and parents have reported to the ACLU, including: that military recruiters have greater access to schools than college recruiters; that schools place students, without their consent, in Junior ROTC classes instead of physical education classes; and that schools unfairly discipline students for distributing flyers opposing military recruitment.

"The new policy is a solid first step," said Arlene Inouye, LAUSD teacher and coordinator for CAMS (Coalition Against Militarism in our Schools). "We are very pleased that the district is taking parents' and students' concerns seriously and we think this will better protect students who do not wish to join the military and those who want more information so they can make their own decision."

The new policy states:

* No student is required by the school to meet with or speak to a recruiter.

* No student will be required to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, or ASVAB.

* Participation in JROTC is voluntary and students will not be forced to take JROTC class in lieu of regular PE class.

* Students age 17 and older will be allowed to opt out of sending personal information to military recruiters without parental approval.

* The military will not be allowed to bring military equipment or vehicles to campus unless the district has approved it.

* The military cannot suggest students drop out of high school and pursue a GED as a means of recruiting.

SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Lambda Legal are filing a brief before a California appeals court today urging the court to affirm a lower court decision saying it is unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the ability to marry.

"Couples, whether gay or straight, who commit to sharing and building their lives together deserve protection of their relationship," said Christine Sun, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Southern California. "As the trial court correctly recognized, it would be arbitrary and unfair to deny legal protection to a committed, loving couple simply because they are in a same-sex relationship."

The brief is being filed today in the California Court of Appeal, First District on behalf of 12 same-sex couples from throughout the state, as well as Equality California and Our Families Coalition. The ACLU brought the case with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (which is lead counsel) and Lambda Legal in response to a decision by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in February 2003.

On March 14, 2005, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer ruled that it was an unconstitutional violation of the state's equal protection guarantees and the fundamental right to marry to deny same-sex couples the ability to marry. The state appealed that decision to the California Court of Appeal.

"We would feel much safer knowing that our family has all the protections of marriage," said Lancy Woo, who has been in a committed relationship with her partner Cristy Chung for 17 years. "Just like any other parents, we want to provide our young daughter with all the protections and rights that any other couple has when they get married and have children."

The 12 couples involved in this lawsuit have made life-long commitments to each other. Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin have been together more than 51 years. Karen Shane and Judy Sokolower have been together more than 32 years. The couples come from throughout the state and from all walks of life, ranging from a small business owner to a writer to a chiropractor. Many of these couples are raising children together. Many of the couples in the case had appointments to obtain marriage licenses at San Francisco City Hall, but the California Supreme Court ordered the mayor to stop issuing licenses before they could obtain theirs.

Oral arguments in the case are expected to take place sometime next year.

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California is seeking to enjoin a new Department of Homeland Security policy relating to federal air marshals' free speech rights that, like the previous directive, overly restricts speech and is likely to continue to jeopardize public safety.

"The new policy does nothing to ease the chilling effect on whistleblowers' speech," said Peter Eliasberg, Manheim Family Attorney for First Amendment Rights at the ACLU of Southern California. "The policy is still unconstitutional and leaves air marshals in the untenable position of not knowing whether they have First Amendment rights to participate in public discussion that could improve the safety of the airline industry."

The motion filed today seeks a temporary restraining order in advance of a House Committee on the Judiciary report pertaining to its investigation of the mismanagement of the Federal Air Marshal Service by the current administrators. The current rules could prohibit Air Marshal Frank Terreri from commenting on the report despite his prominent role as a president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and an informed critic of FAMS.

The director of FAMS has personally initiated four investigations of Terreri - two after the lawsuit was filed. As a result, portions of the motion for a restraining order are being made under seal since the Department of Homeland Security warns employees that any release of information about an investigation may result in discipline or criminal action.

In the original lawsuit, dubbed Air Marshal X, filed in April against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other security officials, Air Marshal Frank Terreri challenged Federal Air Marshal Service rules that prohibited him from speaking publicly about his job or saying anything to do with the Air Marshal Service, a clear violation of his First Amendment rights.

The Office of Professional Responsibility concluded the original rules were "unenforceable as written." In July, the Department of Homeland Security issued a new directive purporting to honor the free speech rights of Federal Air Marshal employees. At the end of August, Terreri amended his lawsuit to also challenge the constitutionality of the new policy.

"The new policy of the Department of Homeland Security simply repackages the original unconstitutional restrictions in different language," said Professor Allan Ides of Loyola Law School. "The biggest loser is the public, which is denied information on critical policy matters."

Terreri has 12 years of law enforcement experience with an unblemished record. For the past three years he has been a federal air marshal and is also a president of a professional membership organization that represents more than 23,000 federal agents, including 1,400 air marshals.

Last year Terreri was taken off active flight duty and placed on administrative duty after he sent a private e-mail to another air marshal raising concerns about an air marshal profile in People magazine. He was returned to active flight duty the day after filing the lawsuit in April. He learned he was cleared of the first investigation and the charges were unfounded only after filing a Freedom of Information Act Request.

The ACLU of Southern California, Professor Allan Ides of Loyola Law School and Paul Hoffman of Schonbrun, DeSimone, Seplow, Harris and Hoffman are representing Terreri.