News & Commentary

Quoting Micah Kubic, Executive Director of the ACLU of Kansas, the Kansas City Star Editorial Board calls for greater transparency among government agencies in Kansas.

A federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union questions the security of a multistate voter registration database championed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas on Wednesday issued a report critical of what it calls a “severe under-utilization” of diversion practices by county prosecutors across the state, but highlighted the practices of Shawnee County District Attorney Michael Kagay as an example of a positive exception.

"Kansas should adopt a more sustainable and comprehensive approach to criminal justice — an approach that will address issues like mental illness, addiction, rehabilitation and poverty instead of just throwing more and more offenders behind bars."

"Expansion of diversion programs alone may be inadequate to relieve the crowding pressures on the Douglas County Jail. But it is the kind of incarceration alternative that should be maximized as a means of offsetting the cost of jail expansion."

The Lawrence Journal-World outlines how the increased use of diversion could impact Douglas County.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas has called for a school district in the Kansas City area to eliminate a policy prohibiting public complaints about individuals at board meetings.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas this week called on the Shawnee Mission School District to appoint an independent investigator to look into four students’ claims of racial harassment by a coach at Shawnee Mission South.

In May, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas asked the Shawnee Mission board of education to halt its practice of telling patrons not to mention district employees by name during board meeting open forums. Instead, the board of education just adopted a new open forum policy that expands its restrictions on “inappropriate” comments beyond those that mention individual employees. Now, patrons can’t mention elected members of the board, either.