Legislation

The American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.) believes that empowering our young residents to lead healthy, productive lives will help make our communities safer, stronger, and more resilient. Relying on outdated approaches to public safety—such as over-policing and over-incarceration—is ineffective and does not make our communities safer. Instead, D.C. must prioritize systems and programs that support our communities, provide holistic security, and invest in the incredible potential of our youth in D.C.

The American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.) believes that relying on outdated approaches to public safety—such as over-policing and over-incarceration—is ineffective and does not make our communities safer. Instead, D.C. must prioritize systems and programs that provide holistic security and support our communities. We believe this approach will make our communities safer, and help the District’s young residents grow into healthy, successful adults.

ACLU-DC testimony in support of the Detained Youth Access to the Juvenile Services Program Amendment Act of 2019.

This proposed amendment will only exacerbate the negative impact to communities of DC’s existing Nuisance Abatement Law, which is problematic in both its scope and enforcement.

ACLU-DC testimony in support of the the Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act of 2017.

ACLU-DC fully supports the intent of Bill 21-361 and believes in the importance of developing data-driven policies. However, we must be cognizant of the process used to collect this data and ensure the privacy of our students.

ACLU-DC fully supports the intent of Bill 21-0319 and believes there is a critical need to assess children in District of Columbia Public Schools and Public Charter Schools whose parents are incarcerated.