News & Commentary

The Justice Department announced today a settlement agreement with Highland Community College (HCC) in Kansas to resolve the department’s investigation into allegations that Black students, primarily student-athletes, living on HCC’s main campus experienced discriminatory treatment in many aspects of campus life, including discipline, housing and interactions with campus security officers. The complaints alleged that Black students were targeted for searches and surveillance and disciplined more severely than their white peers, resulting in their unfair removal from campus housing or even expulsion.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas is urging a federal judge to impose a severe injunction against the Kansas Highway Patrol to block future violations of drivers’ constitutional rights. Under the rule, troopers would need to receive training and keep detailed records about traffic stops.

“If an injunction isn’t issued I think there’s a significant concern that the KHP will continue doing precisely the things that the court found to be unconstitutional,” Brett said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas issued a report noting wide discrepancies in how Kansas counties manage elections. 

Attorneys for the ACLU of Kansas and Attorney General Kris Kobach's office sparred in court Wednesday over the issue, which comes amid the ongoing legal dispute over the impact of a new law, Senate Bill 180.

“We are gratified that the court has seen that our clients have a vested interest in the outcome of this case, and should be entitled to make their arguments,” said Sharon Brett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas. “… This case is about trans Kansans’ well-being and their ability to live freely."

“It seems like one of the most aggressive police raids of a news organization or entity in quite some time,” said Sharon Brett, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, adding that it seemed “quite an alarming abuse of authority.”

Quindaro in Wyandotte County was once a thriving, multiracial community, inextricably linked to the region’s history before, during and after the Civil War. This week, the ACLU of Kansas is releasing a carefully curated, more than 40-page analysis of the former township.

The ACLU of Kansas is asking people to study the history of Quindaro to envision a more just and equitable Kansas. Quindaro, the organization argues, is more than a site of historic significance, known mostly as a stop along the Underground Railroad.