Student Rights

For years, Ohio schoolchildren — many of them disabled — have been routinely isolated in cell-like seclusion rooms or physically restrained by educators with little or no oversight from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).  Click here to learn more about the problem of seclusion and restraint in Ohio.

In 2013, ODE finally took the important step of creating draft rules to govern the use of seclusion and restraint in Ohio Schools. These draft rules are a step in the right direction, but they do not go far enough.

On March 12, 2013, the ACLU of Ohio delivered testimony to the Ohio State Board of Education, asking for a number of revisions to the draft rules. These revisions would make the rules more specific, and apply them to charter schools as well as traditional public schools. Click here to read our testimony, along with the testimony of other child advocates.

The Ohio Legislature has passed legislation that could make it harder for you to vote. Learn how to register and ensure your ballot is counted.

Ohio law allows high school seniors who are at least 17 years old to serve as poll workers. Contact your local board of elections for details.

A publication of the ACLU of Ohio Foundation

This handbook outlines your rights as a public school student. Schools must balance the need to provide a safe and orderly environment against a student’s rights to privacy, free speech, and religion. As a student, you have the power to make change. Student activists all over the country have been successful in challenging school policies or actions that violate the Constitution. You may consider starting an ACLU campus group at your school or find another way to educate students about the issues that you feel are important.

Use this guide in conjunction with your school’s handbook.  Talk with your parents, teachers or other school officials if you think someone’s rights have been violated.

Click here to read or download the guide.

Contents include information on:

• Freedom of Speech and Expression
• Religious Freedom
• Search and Seizure
• Discrimination
• Discipline
• Student Records
• Military Recruitment

Click here to read or download the guide.

Learn more about childrens’ rights, LGBT youth and schools, students and technology,  medical privacy, sex education, reproductive freedom, and student speech at the ACLU national website.

Learn more about Student Rights with a particular emphasis on technology at the ACLU national website.