LOS ANGELES -The ACLU of Southern California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network entered into an agreement with the Fresno Unified School District to take steps to eliminate anti-gay discrimination from Fresno campuses after receiving multiple complaints from students who were harassed, in some cases by school officials, because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

"Our concern is that all students regardless of whether they are gay or straight feel comfortable on campus and that learning is their primary concern while they are at school," said Christine P. Sun, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California. "We are pleased that the Fresno Unified School District is finally taking action to incorporate education on all biases into its curriculum."

The agreement was reached after the ACLU and the GSA Network were contacted by a parent who for months had unsuccessfully attempted to work with the District to end the discrimination against her son by school administrators. In an email obtained by the student's parent, the District Parent Ombudsman instructed other school officials to "document if [the student] is possibly confused about his sexual preference and suggest ways to train him in appropriate ways of expressing his preferences." In the email, the District Ombudsman also suggested that the student needed "psychological testing."

The agreement creates a comprehensive training and curricular program for administrators and students over the next two years that directly addresses anti-gay bias. The training will start this fall and requires that all administrators, teachers, and some additional staff attend a training session focused primarily on sexual orientation and gender identity diversity, discrimination and harassment.

"Daily harassment against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students is ubiquitous in our schools," said Carolyn Laub, executive director of GSA Network. "We look forward to working with Fresno Unified to take comprehensive steps to solve the problem. Other school districts should take a page from Fresno Unified's lesson book and commit to safety and respect for all."

The trainings will include a live presentation by students who can talk about personal experiences and the adult response to such behavior. The District also agreed to provide mandatory instruction for all high school students focusing exclusively on the subject of preventing harassment and discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

Fresno students said the program and training sessions would be a positive step forward.

"I think this kind of training will be great for our district," said Frankie Martinez, a senior at Sunnyside High School. "I know how difficult it may be for gay youth like me and I think this will greatly increase tolerance and I believe that things will finally begin to improve."

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California and a Pasadena couple who was forced to remove a sign questioning the war in Iraq from the exterior of their home, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal district court seeking a permanent injunction blocking the city from enforcing a municipal code that is counter to the First Amendment.

Mary Gavel-Briggs and Patrick Briggs, who are long time Pasadena homeowners, filed the suit after they were forced to remove two political signs that read "Support Cindy Sheehan" and "War starts with 'W.' Bush Lied. People Died." from the front of their home or face a fine of up to $500.

"The signs have allowed us to have many conversations and debates with our neighbors and passers by," said Mary Briggs. "I think that kind of communication is very important to the health of our country. I can't believe we're the first people to challenge this rule, but I hope we help other people express their views too."

Pasadena residents are prohibited from posting most signs on their own property - no matter the content - if they do not obtain a permit and comply with a host of city requirements. Pasadena Municipal Code states that for single-family and duplex homes the maximum number of signs what may be posted is "four signs per parcel" and that maximum sign area is "one square foot per sign" - about the size of a sheet of paper.

"Limiting maximum signage area to one square foot offends another core constitutional principle - that as to the First Amendment, size matters," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director for the ACLU/SC. "Political signs placed on residential property that express views on controversial issues uniquely fulfill a core function of our democracy to reflect and animate change in the life of a community."

The Briggs first called the ACLU/SC after a long exchange of phone conversations, letters and emails with the Zoning Department attempting to clarify the rules and obtain a permit, if necessary, to place a sign on their home. In mid-August the Zoning Department said after consulting the city attorney the Briggs' signs were "prohibited," but provided no rationale why.

The Briggs are active in community groups and their church. Mary Briggs is a third generation Pasadena resident and has owned the home in the North Pasadena Heights section of Pasadena for nearly ten years. The couple bypassed the rule last month to post a sign notifying neighbors they could leave donations for Hurricane Katrina victims at their house.

"We just think this regulation is counter to the spirit of our city," said Patrick Briggs. "At first it seemed like a minor issue, but changing the code is worthwhile for the sake of discussion and democracy in our community."

LOS ANGELES - Less than a week after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against top U.S. officials demanding the release of a long-time U.S. resident, the government freed him Tuesday.

The release comes almost two months after a military court declared Numan Adnan Al Kaby innocent and just two days before a judge was to hear the case in Washington, D.C.

"A federal judge set a hearing and the government was going to have to defend the indefensible, which explains the timing of Mr. Al Kaby's release," said Mark Rosenbaum, ACLU of Southern California legal director. "It is absolutely chilling that more than two months after Mr. Al Kaby was cleared by our government it took a federal lawsuit against the president to secure an innocent man's release."

Numan Adnan Al Kaby, a long-term legal resident of the United States who escaped the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War, returned to Iraq after Hussein's capture to reunite with his family and found a job aiding an American contractor. Al Kaby, who is an applicant for U.S. citizenship and a Shiite originally from Iraq, was arrested by the U.S. military in April and declared innocent by a military court July 4, but still remained in custody without contact with his family or access to a lawyer. Al Kaby was originally arrested after calling in sick the same day his construction site received mortar fire, but the military court determined he was not involved in the incident.

"I am so glad he's safe," said Haider Al Saedy, Al Kaby's first cousin with whom he lived in Michigan. "I didn't know where he was or why we couldn't speak to him even though he was innocent, but now I am so happy he is back with our family."

Al Kaby's lawsuit was filed in federal district court by Al Saedy, and Cyrus Kar, an American who became friends with Al Kaby while the two were detained in neighboring cells for more than a month at the Camp Cropper detention facility in Iraq. Kar, a U.S. Navy veteran in Iraq working on a documentary film, was released after the ACLU of Southern California filed a lawsuit that made national headlines.

The suit was due to be heard Thursday, Sept. 8 in Washington, but Justice Department attorneys, filed papers seeking a 23-day delay to respond to the ACLU suit. In a motion filed Sunday, the ACLU wrote: "The only truly novel question here is chilling -- whether a determination of innocence of a lawful permanent resident by a military tribunal may be arbitrarily voided or ignored such that liberty becomes illusory."

After growing up in Iraq, Al Kaby was forced to escape the country after refusing to continue to serve in Saddam Hussein's army in 1991. He fled to a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia where he spent more than three years before receiving political asylum in the United States. In the U.S. Al Kaby worked first in Salt Lake City at an airport shop before reuniting with his cousin, Al Saedy, who had spent seven years in the same Saudi Arabian refugee camp. The two moved to Michigan where they opened restaurants.

Attorneys in the case are international law specialist and former Chair of Amnesty International USA Paul Hoffman, Duke law professor Erwin Chemerinsky; Rosenbaum, Ranjana Natarajan and Ahilan Arulanantham of the ACLU of Southern California; Legal Director Steven Shapiro and Ben Wizner of the national ACLU; Lucas Guttentag and Lee Gelernt of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project; and Art Spitzer of the ACLU of the National Capital Area; and Moss and Legal Director Mike Steinberg of the ACLU of Michigan.

For a copy of the complaint, please visit: www.aclusocal.org

For more information on Cyrus Kar, please visit: www.aclusocal.org/News/