Posted on Jul 23rd, 2010

ACLU of Texas Annual Meeting and Conference Next Week

Event Features TV Writer Ed Burns and Focuses on Student Rights

Contact: Dotty Griffith, Public Education Director, ACLU of Texas, (512) 478-7300 x 106; dgriffith@aclutx.org

AUSTIN - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas Annual Meeting and Youth Rights Conference is now little more than a week away with the event promising to be the premiere civil rights event of the summer in Texas.

The event will take place Saturday, July 31 at the Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark.

Youth Rights in Texas: Sensible School Discipline will focus on the school-to-prison pipeline, including zero tolerance policies that funnel kids out of the school system and into the prison system, counter to what everyone should agree should be a top priority: keeping youths in the classroom.

The conference will be headlined by Ed Burns, writer/producer/co-creator of the critically acclaimed HBO series "The Wire." Prior to his TV writing career, Burns was a police detective and later a teacher in Baltimore's inner-city schools. Those experiences have prompted him to work on creating positive learning environments for children.

Other speakers will include attorney Adam Wolf, who has been named California Attorney of the Year.

The conference will also feature civil liberties awards presented by the ACLU of Texas to individuals who over the past few years have fought to preserve their rights and the rights of others. One such award - the Youth Rights Award - will honor 7-year-old A.A., a child in the Needville Independent School District near Houston who as a kindergartner was placed in in-school suspension for refusing to cut his hair, a symbol of his religious heritage and beliefs. The ACLU has successfully represented A.A. and his family in a lawsuit against the school district.

For speaker bios, schedule and registration information, please visit http://aclutx.org/annualmeeting