ACLU Working to Ensure AMEMSA Students Are Able to Exercise Free Speech Rights
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD – The following is a statement from Nick Taichi Steiner, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Maryland, regarding the lawsuit filed today by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), El-Haggan et al v. Board of Education, Montgomery County:
“The ACLU of Maryland commends and supports CAIR’s effort to protect the First Amendment rights of teachers in Montgomery County. While CAIR defends the rights of teachers to speak out, we are working to ensure that students across the state, especially Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) students, are able to speak their truth and share their opinions without being punished for those views, as these MCPS teachers have been punished. We encourage any student or student group who feels silenced by their school to reach out to us.”
The ACLU of Maryland exists to empower Marylanders to exercise their rights so that the law values and uplifts their humanity. Our vision is that Maryland’s people are united in affirming and exercising their rights in order to address inequities and fulfill the country’s unrealized promise of justice and freedom for all.
