CA Senate votes to ban random drug testing of students
Added 5-20-04
State senators voted Tuesday to ban random drug testing of California students, agreeing that schools should have "reasonable suspicion" before checking for drug or alcohol use. "How many of you folks in this room would submit to random drug testing if that's what this bill did?" asked one of the legislation's supporters, Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley. "I would not." Click for More

Texas cupcake ban crumbles
Added 9-1-04
Succumbing to complaints, state officials have relaxed their ban on sugary treats enough to allow birthday cakes and cupcakes back into elementary school classrooms. Texas Department of Agriculture spokesman Allen Spelce said Tuesday that officials rescinded the ban on birthday baked goods last week after concluding such treats are a time-honored tradition. Click for More

Teens battle mouse in pizza fight; Company's age policy angers under-18 set
Added 8-29-04
A group of local teenagers is taking on the biggest mouse in the pizza business. Led by JR Brown, 17, of Fort Gratiot, about 10 teens are mounting an e-mail campaign to get Chuck E. Cheese's to lower its age requirements. On Friday, JR and a friend were unable to enter Chuck E. Cheese's at Birchwood Mall because they were not 18 and were not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Click for More

Goose Creek Gestopo Gets Off
Added 7-8-04
S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster said Friday that while police officers created a "dangerous tinderbox situation" when they rushed into the hallway of Berkeley County's largest high school Nov. 5 with guns drawn, such tactics were not illegal. Click for More

The House of Lords Restrains the Hand That Hits the Child
Added 7-5-04
The House of Lords - the upper house of Parliament - resolved Monday to limit, but not forbid, the right of parents to punish their children by slapping or spanking them, changing a 144-year-old law that gave parents the right to hit children as "reasonable chastisement" for misbehavior. Click for More

Republican Senate Candidate Urges Lower Drinking Age
Added 6-24-04
Colorado Republican Senate hopeful Pete Coors yesterday criticized the legal drinking age, chiding the federal government for coercing states into raising the age limit from 18 to 21. "We got along fine for years with the 18-year-old drinking age," the former CEO of the Coors Brewing Co. told an audience of about 200 people at a candidates' debate here. "We're criminalizing our young people." Click for More

School District Bans Pink Clothing
Added 6-23-04
Officials have banned pink clothing for the remainder of the school year out of concerns that the color has become associated with gang activity. "There is no evidence of gang activity. But because of the growing use of the color pink we decided to be proactive. Girls and boys are supposed to avoid wearing pink," Berta said Monday. Click for More

Father takes son off ritalin; charged with child Abuse
Added 6-8-04
When Chad Taylor noticed his son was apparently experiencing serious side effects from Ritalin prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he decided to take the boy off the medication. Now, he says he may be accused of child abuse. Click for More

Montgomery, AL gets daytime curfew
Added 6-3-04
Montgomery schoolchildren can't play hooky anymore. At least that's what the city's legal books will say. The City Council majority on Tuesday afternoon approved a curfew to put more teeth into one dating back to 1964 that officials say is so vague police aren't enforcing it. Click for More

Justices side with law enforcement in interrogation of juveniles
Added 6-1-04
The Supreme Court clashed Tuesday over whether police must take extra care when questioning young people about crimes, narrowly siding with officers in their interrogation of a 17-year-old murder suspect in California. Click for More

Cal City to amend curfew law
Added 5-27-04
Anyone younger than 17 still will have to be off the streets before curfew kicks in but soon will have more acceptable reasons for violations. The Calumet City Council discussed a revised version of the city's curfew ordinance during a special meeting Monday night. Click for More

Indianapolis votes down paddle policy
Added 5-26-04
The Indianapolis Public Schools board moved to eliminate corporal punishment at its 79 schools today, bringing an end to a decades-old policy and galvanizing the efforts of advocates seeking a statewide ban. Click for More

CA Senate votes to ban random drug testing of students
Added 5-20-04
State senators voted Tuesday to ban random drug testing of California students, agreeing that schools should have "reasonable suspicion" before checking for drug or alcohol use. "How many of you folks in this room would submit to random drug testing if that's what this bill did?" asked one of the legislation's supporters, Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley. "I would not." Click for More

Californians consider granting 14-year-olds the right to vote
Added 5-7-04
Being 14, an awkward, largely uncelebrated time that can seem to last for an eternity rather than a year, took a small step toward relevance in the Capitol on Wednesday. After earnest testimony by teenagers and their youthful supporters, the Senate Elections and Reapportionment Committee passed legislation that would lower the state's legal voting age to 14. Click for More

School bans sack lunches, baked goods
Added 4-29-04
Sack lunches and baked goods have been added to the list of illicit materials not allowed into Sharyland High School. “We’re just doing this so we can be more aware and provide a safe environment for our students,” said Rene Reyna, a spokesman for Sharyland School District. Click for More

Californians consider granting 14-year-olds the right to vote
Added 4-28-04
On Super Tuesday last month, Robert Reynolds headed for the polls at the local senior center, where he politely requested a ballot from a graying, middle-aged woman. She glanced at his youthful face, and then brusquely turned him away. Click for More

NYRA Strives to Lower Voting Age
Added 4-22-04
The National Youth Rights Association is an organization that deals with age discrimination in areas of voting, drinking, driving, curfews and other economic matters. The youth’s rights movement began in the 1960s and 1970s and many organizations formed over the last 20 years. Click for More

Student addresses legislators
Added 4-20-04
For Amanda Gelender, testifying before state senators in Sacramento last month was a thrill she will never forget. And perhaps the legislators she addressed felt the same way, as the Castro Valley High School junior brought a jolt of infectious energy to the proceedings, said Glenn Backes, director of health policy of Drug Policy Alliance. Click for More

NFL Blocks Young Players for their 'Own Good'
Added 4-19-04
A federal appeals court Monday blocked former Ohio State star Maurice Clarett and other young football players like him from entering the NFL draft this weekend. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the NFL had demonstrated that it is likely to succeed in arguing that college underclassmen should not be allowed to turn pro. Click for More

City High students try to change area voting age
Added 4-13-04
As students in several states are looking to lower the voting age, a movement in a City High government class aims to give 17-year-olds the right to vote in Iowa City School District elections. The Voting Permit project is a long-term endeavor started about two years ago in Jeanine Redlinger's state and local government class. Click for More

Should voting age fall to 16?
Added 4-9-04
High school junior Lindsay Holbrook is brokenhearted. Not over a boy - but over the fact that, at 17, she will not be allowed to vote for president this November. And the Walled Lake, Mich., teen aims to do something about that. Holbrook is part of a movement to lower the voting age. Click for More

EU may reduce voting age to 16, meeting told
Added 4-8-04
Consideration is to be given by the European Union to reducing the voting age to 16 across the EU, following a conference of youth ministers and youth organisations at Dromoland Castle, Co Clare. Click for More

Girl beats school board, goes to prom
Added 4-7-04
A high school senior who was banned from the prom because she violated school smoking rules is going to the dance after all. Leona "Oni" Fitzpatrick, 18, asked East Central District Judge Wade Webb to overturn a Hillsboro (N.D.) School Board ruling so she could attend the dance Saturday night with other Hillsboro High School students. Click for More

Drinking age debated
Added 4-6-04
The National Youth Rights Association (NYRA), a youth advocacy group, is actively recruiting college students in the District in a campaign to lower the national drinking age from 21 to 18. The nonprofit, volunteer-run organization, is fighting against organizations like MADD and CSPI to amend the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 Click for More

Committee moves to randomly drug-test high school athletes
Added 4-5-04
Concerned about growing steroid use at the high school level, a House panel said Monday it's time to require random drug testing for prep athletes. The House Subcommittee on Pre-K through grade 12 education moved a bill to the full education committee that would require school districts drug test and make it a requirement Click for More

ND: Girl heads to court over prom ban
Added 4-4-04
A court hearing has been scheduled for a Hillsboro High School student banned from the senior prom for smoking. Leona Fitzpatrick, 18, and her parents say it's not fair to ban her from the senior prom for smoking cigarettes outside school grounds. Fitzpatrick has asked for a court injunction so she can participate in extracurricular activities at the school. Click for More

Police chief sued over alleged paddling
Added 4-3-04
A part-time police chief has been suspended after a lawsuit accused him of assaulting a teenager by paddling the boy as part of a crime diversion program for a speeding ticket. Carol Woolf of Vienna said she initially agreed to let her 16-year-old son be paddled, then refused to have him return for 14 more sessions because of the welts he suffered. Click for More

NH Teen Arrested for Voting Illegally
Added 4-2-04
A week after hosting a pro-Bush house party aimed at getting young voters to the polls, a local teen Republican activist was arrested for voting illegally. Click for More

Labour to back votes at 16 in UK
Added 3-24-04
Labour is backing a reduction in voting age to 16 in an attempt to reconnect young people with the political system. The party's policy forum agreed at the weekend that there was "a strong case" for cutting the voting age to 16. Until now, Labour has been neutral on the issue. Click for More

Campaign Aims to Lower Drinking Age
Added 3-23-04
The volunteer-run National Youth Rights Association has been organizing D.C. college students to participate in its campaign to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. Click for More

Students protest drinking age
Added 3-19-04
A youth advocacy organization is recruiting D.C. college students in its campaign to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. While flyers from the National Youth Rights Association have been posted around campus, GW students have yet to officially join the group's effort to change the nation's drinking laws. Click for More

New violence at youth jails causes alarm
Added 3-18-04
A 16-year-old boy in state custody at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center was severely beaten last month by five other youths who continued to kick him in the head and face after he fell to the ground "defenseless," according to state police records. Click for More

Concern growing over youth piercings
Added 3-13-04
Erik Hansen rolls up his left sleeve to reveal a roughly drawn skull-and-crossbones-tattoo. A friend did it for him a few weeks ago, using a needle and ink at what Hansen calls a "poke and stick party" — a growing trend among young people as tattoos and piercings have surged in popularity. Click for More

Parents Liable for Kid's Crimes
Added 3-10-04
Know what your children are up to? Better find out. You're liable for virtually any kind of trouble -- vandalism, fights, pregnancy -- they can get into. Click for More

Keg registration would make buyer responsible for minors' alcohol consumption
Added 3-9-04
The Iowa House of Representatives is considering a bill that would require the registration of beer kegs, making the buyer responsible if minors consume alcohol from it. The bill, introduced by State Reps. Cecil Dolecheck, R-Mount Ayr and Mike Reasoner, D-Creston, was written by three high school students from Lamoni. Click for More

Assistant principal admits planting marijuana in student's locker
Added 3-7-04
An assistant high school principal is being investigated after police say he admitted to planting marijuana in a student's locker. Police say Pat Conroy told them earlier this month that he placed the marijuana in the male student's locker at South Haven High School last year because he suspected the student was a drug dealer. Conroy told police he was trying to get the boy expelled. Click for More

Miami Juvenile Jail Official Told Dying Teen To 'Suck It Up'
Added 3-6-04
A supervising guard at a juvenile jail told a dying teen to "suck it up" as the boy retched, wept and moaned from stomach pain, evidence given to a grand jury shows. Some guards tried to get help for 17-year-old Omar Paisley before he died of a burst appendix, the records show, but their supervisors and jail nurses believed he was faking or exaggerating. Click for More

Young entrepreneurs told they're too young for the toy industry
Added 3-1-04
Celia and Olivia Reingold, owners of a Washington D.C.-based toy company, registered for the world's biggest toy show this year, convinced they would make strong connections across the industry. With more than 80 products, their company, they reasoned, was ready to play ball with the toy business's biggest players. Click for More

B-Ball Geezers Blast Young 'Upstarts'
Added 2-29-04
It's open season on the NBA's younger players, with many former stars and veterans taking shots at their less experienced counterparts, who aren't hesitant to respond right back. Among the points of contention: Click for More

Let's give all teens the right to vote
Added 2-26-04
We're knee-deep in the election season, with the California primary March 2 and the presidential campaign shifting into full gear. It's all about the voter. At least until the day after the election. Click for More

Father Disrupts Class by Spanking Daughter
Added 2-25-03
The Cudahy School District has changed its visitation policy for parents after a father spanked his daughter in front of other students in her high school biology class. Click for More

Supreme Court OKs Discrimination Against Younger Workers
Added 2-24-04
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a law protecting older workers from age discrimination on the job doesn't permit workers over 40 to sue employers for giving better benefits to older colleagues. Click for More

U.S. Students Still Getting the Paddle
Added 2-21-04
The debate over whether corporal punishment has a place in American education became very personal for Ralph McLaney when the principal of Carver Middle School ordered him to paddle a sixth-grade student who had acted up in class. Click for More

Coming of Age in America
Added 2-17-04
You may remember a that phony list of the “top school problems” of 1940 (“talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in halls, getting out of turn, wearing improper clothing, not putting paper in wastebaskets”) versus today’s (“drug abuse, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, assault”), which that circulated widely in the 1990s?. Click for More

Student Suspended for Not Having Drugs
Added 2-7-04
Last Friday morning marked the first random search by police canines for drugs at Narragansett High School, leading to four locker searches and one student suspension. No actual contraband was found and no arrests were made, said Narragansett Police Chief J. David Smith in a telephone interview Monday morning. Click for More

NFL Age Restriction 'sacked'
Added 2-5-04
A federal judge opened the door for Ohio State sensation Maurice Clarett and teenage football stars to turn pro, declaring Thursday that an NFL rule barring their eligibility violates antitrust law and "must be sacked." Click for More

Military requests Japan deny alcohol to young troops.
Added 2-3-04
The commander of Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station, Japan, wants off-base bars to help the base enforce its standards for alcohol purchases. Marine Col. David Darrah asked local bar owners not to sell alcohol to any servicemembers younger than 21. Click for More

Congressmen Advocate Random Drug Testing of Public School Students
Added 1-30-04
A Pennsylvania congressman has introduced a bill aimed at reducing student drug use. The measure would provide funding to public schools that choose to randomly test students for drug use. Click for More

Court: Indiana's Curfew Law Unconstitutional
Added 1-29-04
A federal appeals court in Chicago ruled Thursday that Indiana's curfew law is unconstitutional, saying it discourages the exercise of minors' rights to free speech. The law, which was enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 2001, required people under the age of 18 to be home by 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday (and 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays) unless they met one of several exceptions. Click for More

African teens split over lower voting age
Added 1-29-04
The opposition coalition in Tanzania has proposed the change in the law in that country, arguing that with falling life expectancy young people should have more of a say. Click for More

Principal at drug-raid high school in S.C. resigns
Added 1-5-04
The principal of a high school where police drew their guns on students and ordered them to the floor during a drug raid announced his resignation Monday. "I realized it is in the best interest of Stratford High School and of my students for me to make a change," George McCrackin said in a statement. Click for More

Aaron Carter Seeks Emancipation
Added 12-15-03
Teen pop singer Aaron Carter is severing his personal and professional relationship with his mother, alleging she took more than $100,000 from his bank account without his permission. Click for More

Blair floats idea of giving 16-year-olds right to vote
Added 12-9-03
THE voting age may be lowered to 16 in a ground-breaking move the government believes would re-engage young people in politics. Tony Blair ordered a senior political ally to float the idea at the weekend to gauge how popular it would be. The direct involvement of the Prime Minister is a sign of how seriously the proposal is being taken. Click for More

Chicago High School To Require All Students Get Drug Tested
Added 12-8-03
Beginning next fall, St. Patrick's High School, on the northwest side, will become the first in Illinois to require drug tests of ALL its students. Click for More

Assembly OKs parental access to library records
Added 12-7-03
Legislation requiring public libraries to disclose to parents of children under 16 records of all books, CDs, videotapes and other library materials their kids check out moved one step closer to becoming law Thursday. Click for More

School suspends teen for rap lyric
Added 12-4-03
A 15-year-old Brookfield Central High School student's homemade rhymes earned him a five-day suspension and could get the honor student expelled because of a lyric deemed threatening toward the principal - perhaps the first such case in Wisconsin. Click for More

Student's expulsion rescinded
Added 11-30-03
The Fulton County school system on Friday temporarily rescinded the expulsion of a Roswell High School freshman who wrote a fictional tale in her private journal about a student who dreams she kills a teacher. Click for More

W. Windsor council adopts drinking law
Added 11-28-03
Despite opposition from about a dozen high school students, the township council last night voted 4-1 to adopt a new ordinance banning underage drinking. The ordinance allows the police to issue tickets to youths found drinking or possessing alcohol on private property. Click for More

Boy in skirt tests limits of school dress code
Added 11-25-03
Even now, no one is entirely sure why Kevin Dougherty, 15, showed up for school one day last month wearing a floral skirt and a matching scarf tied jauntily around his neck. Pantyhose, eye shadow and lipstick completed the look. Click for More

Muslim Student Sues School District Over Headscarf Ban
Added 11-18-03
A Muslim girl who was suspended twice for wearing a religious headscarf to her Oklahoma public school has filed a suit saying her rights to free speech and religious exercise have been violated. Click for More

Careful -- your neighborhood liquor store clerk might be a police officer
Added 11-14-03
Even those underage who think they know exactly where they can score beer or wine should probably think twice next time before sliding that fake ID across the counter. The cashier checking it -- or the employee mopping the floor or restocking the shelf nearby -- could actually be a cop. Click for More

The New Forbidden Dance
Added 11-13-03
Crip Walking - or "C-Walking" - is the latest dance trend to achieve outlaw status, after several Los Angeles high schools banned it for its gang connotations. Click for More

Government mandates on toddlers
Added 11-12-03
Last week this column complained about First 5 California commercials touting preschool attendance as a virtual guarantee of a child's social, academic, psychological, artistic and economic success. Click for More

Updating law to support an Amish custom
Added 11-11-03
Legislation introduced by Rep. Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.) seeks to amend the 65-year-old Fair Labor Standards Act to permit Amish teens between the ages of 14 and 18 to work in businesses where machinery is used to process wood products. Click for More

Gun Wielding Police, Drug Dogs Storm Hallways
Added 11-9-03
A police raid at a South Carolina high school in which a dozen officers stormed into the hallways with their guns drawn, handcuffed students, and used drug-sniffing dogs to search their backpacks -- all of which was recorded on the school's video-taping system -- is now being investigate by state police. Click for More

Fighting beer blasts
Added 11-3-03
Never mind that they're not old enough to drink legally. As long as they're on private property, police have had limited power to interfere. Now, in an attempt to create a new tool to battle the problem, the township council here is expected to vote tonight on whether to introduce a new municipal ordinance to combat underage drinking. Click for More

Vote At 16 in UK
Added 11-2-03
Sixteen-year-olds will get the vote under a Labour scheme to boost flagging turnouts at elections. The move to lower the voting age from 18 has mounting support among Ministers and MPs, and Education Secretary Charles Clarke is said to be sympathetic to the change. Click for More

9-year-old arrested for waving toy gun
Added 11-1-03
A 9-year-old boy was arrested at gunpoint and handcuffed Saturday because he was waving a toy gun over his head while seated on a bench outside a store, according to a Lorain police report. Click for More

Teacher uses fire hose on students
Added 10-30-03
When the students at Fjell junior high school insisted on staying indoors in their break, the teacher got the fire hose, hosed them down and sent them out in the cold. There they were, 15 students soaked to the bone, forced to spend their break outdoors in the cold Wednesday. Click for More

Too young to use wheelchair? Police threaten fines.
Added 10-29-03
Bryce Wiley, 14, has muscular dystrophy and uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. But Iowa law says it is illegal for someone younger than 16 to ride a motorized vehicle. Click for More

D.C. Council to Consider Ban on Spray Paint Sales to Minors
Added 10-28-03
Two members of the D.C. Council are trying to keep spray paint out of the hands of minors in an effort to cut down on gang activity. Click for More

Rights and Reason: Compulsory Service in Illinois
Added 10-26-03
Illinois high school students could be required to perform volunteer work in their communities in order to graduate and devote more class time to physical education under ideas floated Thursday by Gov. Blagojevich. Click for More

High court to revisit online-porn law
Added 10-24-03
The Supreme Court agreed last Tuesday to revisit the thorny question of how to protect children from online smut without resorting to unconstitutional censorship. Click for More

County Wants Congress to Lower Voting Age
Added 10-23-03
Allegheny County Council wants Congress to take a look at lowering the voting age to 17. The nonbinding motion passed 8-5 Tuesday night and was sponsored by Democratic Councilman Bill Robinson, who represents Pittsburgh's Hill District. Click for More

A new way to catch fake IDs
Added 10-22-03
Indiana's liquor stores are tackling the problem of fake IDs by testing new technology at three college towns, including Bloomington. The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers has initiated a one-of-a-kind trial where it will test the system, which scans the bar code on driver's licenses and lets workers know if the ID is legitimate. Click for More

'Take a hit' T-shirts banned from high school
Added 10-19-03
A booster club's tie-dyed T-shirt that reads "We can take a hit" has caused a stir at Campbell County High School. The shirt was designed for the football season by members of the Madd Dog club, a group of seniors who display school spirit at games. Click for More

Supreme Court to rule on pledge
Added 10-18-03
The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide whether it’s unconstitutional for children in public schools to pledge their allegiance to “one nation under God.” Click for More

Student Expelled for Loaning Inhaler to Girlfriend
Added 10-16-03
In a true NutWatch case, a high school student in Texas is disciplined for loaning his girlfriend his inhaler. She was having trouble breathing,and she left her inhaler at home. They both have breathing problems, and use the same asthma medicine. Click for More

Teen beer sales bubble over
Added 10-15-03
For the upshot of Florida's underage drinking laws, check with 15-year-olds John Obgoom and Richard Rivera, as they relax with friends in a parking lot near Sickles High School. From where they stand, the prohibition against anyone under 21 possessing alcohol seems a mere formality. Click for More

Young workers say their age holds them back
Added 10-11-03
After Jeremy Pepper was laid off from a marketing firm, he became discouraged by the job hunt. Unable to land a good position, Pepper began to suspect his age was keeping him from getting work. Click for More

Schools Use Fingerprints To Track Students
Added 10-2-03
Some Iowa schools are keeping track of students by their fingerprints. With the touch of a finger, schoolchildren can get a hot lunch and check out a book and school nurses can double-check a student's identity to make sure the right medication is given. Click for More

New Jersey creates Child Advocate post
Added 9-29-03
In a move to help fix a child welfare system he called failed and broken, Gov. James E. McGreevey signed legislation yesterday creating an independent Child Advocate with sweeping investigative and administrative powers. Click for More

Teenage Mayor swims against tide of voter apathy
Added 9-28-03
Even though he's barely old enough to vote, Christopher Portman has become one of America's youngest mayors. But his political aspirations don't end there. Click for More

Kids to 'vote' with parents
Added 9-27-03
Last November, thousands of unregistered Florida voters went to the polls, cast paper ballots and chose Democrat Bill McBride for governor. There was no hue and cry, no outrage. In fact, election officials in the three counties where it happened considered the unofficial election a good thing: Every ballot cast was cast by a child, each one a voter in waiting. Click for More

MSN Cuts Chatrooms 'For the Children'
Added 9-26-03
Child advocates Wednesday applauded a decision by Microsoft's MSN online service to crack down on its free chat rooms, calling unmonitored chat sites among the most hazardous places for kids on the Net. Click for More

Teen's Felony Case Thrown Out
Added 9-25-03
The case of an Oklahoma teen who was charged with a felony for writing a violent short story about attacking his school has been dismissed by a judge who ruled that prosecutors failed to prove the teen actually intended to commit the act. Click for More

Residents call curfew racist and offensive
Added 9-24-03
Richard Peterson stood in front of dozens of people at a public meeting earlier this month and called a curfew "offensive." But he didn't stop there. He went further to say that if anyone tried to say it wasn't racist they were "lying." Click for More

The campaign against underage drinking targets adults
Added 9-23-03
The Federal Trade Commission this week exonerated the alcohol industry from the charge that it's trying to seduce underage drinkers with flavored malt beverages such as Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Silver, which critics call "alcopops." Click for More

Israeli panel recommends more rights for minors
Added 9-17-03
A committee reviewing basic principles concerning children and the law and their implementation in legislation recommends adopting a new legal perception of children, no longer viewing them as the "country's future" or as minors under complete responsibility of their parents, but rather as persons with individual legal rights. Click for More

Germany Ponders "Family Vote"
Added 9-14-03
In an attempt to pass some of the responsibility of Germany's political future to those who will have to face it, a plan to give children the vote has been proposed and supported by a number of politicians. Click for More

Elma school officials ban short cheerleader skirts
Added 9-11-03
Sacrificing a game-day tradition to ward off the distraction of bare adolescent thighs, Elma High School has banned its cheerleaders' short skirts from its hallways and classrooms. Click for More

Minor Contribution Ban Challenged in Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Added 9-8-03
The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, today asked the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the constitutional rights of minors to participate in political campaigns as oral arguments were presented before the high court in the campaign finance case. Click for More

Let’s give kids the right to vote
Added 9-5-03
Rockford Mayor Doug Scott, for all his charms and talents, doesn’t deserve to be known as “the people’s choice.” I offer this observation not as a slam against Scott but as a statement of statistical fact. He was elected in April 2001 by barely 17 percent of the city’s registered voters. Click for More

Proposed changes to curfew ordinance give police more leverage
Added 9-3-03
Curfew violators beware: The city is in the process of making its curfew ordinance easier for Hagerstown City Police to enforce. Click for More

Germany debates babies at ballot box plan
Added 9-2-03
New-born babies in Germany are to be given the vote if plans disclosed by an influential group of German MPs get the go-ahead. Parents will be trusted with their children’s votes until they are of "an able age" under the plans, but families with more children will have more votes. Click for More

Kids locked in roach filled cages 'for own protection'
Added 8-30-03
A couple were arrested on child abuse charges for allegedly keeping their 5-year-old twin sons locked in filthy makeshift cages for nearly 20 hours a day. Click for More

City High students fight water bottle policy
Added 8-29-03
As the temperature climbed into the 90s Tuesday afternoon, City High senior Jessica Murilla returned from her free hour with a smoothie drink even though school policy prohibits it. Click for More

School Strip Search Battle Wages On
Added 8-28-03
Since January, it's been the word of ten girls against a school district, which they say violated a strip search policy. Poplar Bluff's school handbook forbids strip searches. The parents of the ten girls filed a civil suit, when the district denied breaking that policy. Click for More

Democrat seeks to lower voting age
Added 8-27-03
A city lawmaker says she will help 16-year-olds secure the right to vote, a plan that would make the teens the youngest voters in the nation and increase the number of registered voters in the Democratic Party. Click for More

Mother Fights Son's School Over "Mandatory" Uniforms
Added 8-24-03
An Orange County mother fought back against her son's school after he was threatened with suspension for not wearing a school uniform. She reminded the principal that uniforms are not mandatory and the school district backed her up. Click for More

Slap on the Wrist for Gulag School
Added 8-22-03
Bethel Boys Academy must meet requirements ranging from allowing restroom and water breaks during exercise to forbidding the use of electrical devices for discipline, a consent decree says. Click for More

Limits sought on parents buying alcohol for kids
Added 8-21-03
A Wisconsin legislator is seeking to change a state law that allows children to drink in taverns as long as they’re accompanied by a parent or guardian. But a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Restaurant Association says the measure could mean the loss of an educational opportunity. Click for More

Does Your School Tell You What to Think?
Added 8-20-03
If you don't clap, then you get detention." The face of the menacing teacher giving us this new rule angered me. Who was he to tell us whom to clap for? Who was he to tell us whom to like or dislike? Click for More

Students set to take the pledge
Added 8-17-03
Starting Monday, pupils across Texas will get a mandated dose of patriotism, through a new law that requires them to recite a pledge to the Texas flag and hold still for a moment of silence. Click for More

Thailand: No online games past bedtime
Added 8-16-03
Thai authorities have imposed a curfew on online gaming so the country's youths can have more time to rest and study. Under the new rule, both local and overseas servers--which are required for networked gaming with other players--will be blocked from 10pm to 6pm daily Click for More

West Australian Govt faces challenge over curfew laws
Added 8-14-03
The West Australian Government is facing a challenge in the Human Rights Commission over its curfew for children, a challenge which could end up in court. Click for More

Four boys run from Bethel
Added 8-14-03
Four juveniles ran away from the Bethel Boys Academy late Monday or early Tuesday, officials said. One of the boys was picked up by George County deputies, while the other three are apparently still on the run. Click for More

N.C. State Student Sues to Run for Raleigh City Council
Added 8-8-03
A 20-year-old N.C. State University junior has sued to get his name back on the ballot for the Raleigh city council election. Zack Medford argues that he should be allowed to seek election because he will be 21 by Dec. 3, when the new council is sworn in. Click for More

Insurance agencies single out teen drivers
Added 8-7-03
Insurance agencies single out teen drivers. Lack of experience, age and gender are the factors on which insurance agencies base their premium for insurance coverage. Most teens feel they are treated unfairly and should be given a chance without being charged an outrageous premium. Click for More

After 37-year-old kills, youth curfew sought
Added 8-5-03
In the wake of a killing that has shaken Manning, a city councilman is pushing for the city to implement a curfew and look at a loitering ordinance to try to make the city safer. Click for More

Massachusetts School Superintendent Fails Test
Added 8-4-03
This city's superintendent of schools, who recently put two dozen teachers on unpaid leave for failing a basic English proficiency test, has himself flunked a required literacy test three times. Click for More

Siler City Teen Seeks Historic Run For Mayor
Added 8-3-03
It's the ultimate success story -- a 19-year-old grocery clerk who becomes president of the United States. Jonus Nobles has an appetite for success. Click for More

Help more, criticize less, youths say
Added 7-27-03
Police and community groups identify youth crime as a problem in our city, but youth themselves say they are tired of all youth being seen as troublemakers. To them, racism, ageism, stereotyping, lack of accessibility to resources and trouble finding employment are much more pressing issues. Click for More

Panel seeks to lower voting age to 19 in S. Korea
Added 7-27-03
The state-run election watchdog yesterday announced that it will push to lower the voting age from the current age of 20 to 19 to boost young people's participation in the voting process. Click for More

AG: Bethel boys physically, mentally abused'
Added 7-5-03
Juveniles in the care of Bethel Boys Academy have been physically and mentally abused, according to a complaint filed by Attorney General Mike Moore's office. Click for More

Voting young
Added 7-3-03
Should Wisconsin be the first to honor the principle of universal suffrage and issue a voter registration card with every birth certificate? Seriously. Wisconsin prides itself on being the first to institute progressive reforms such as workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation, how about adding child voting rights to the list? Click for More

Bid to raise smoking age to 21 sent packing
Added 6-30-03
Portrayed against images of young soldiers fighting abroad, a proposal to boost the legal smoking age to 21 in California failed to clear its maiden committee Monday and may be finished for the year. Click for More

Supreme Court Upholds Internet Filters
Added 6-23-03
By a vote of 6 to 3, the court said the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which requires libraries that receive federal Internet aid to use anti-pornography filtering software, does not violate the constitutional guarantee of free speech. Click for More

Texas students asking school board to revisit dress code
Added 6-22-03
Calallen High School students - more than half of the student body - want the School Board to take another look at the student dress code adopted by the trustees at their May 12 meeting. Click for More

Teen Sues Over 'Lesbian Barbie' Shirt Ban
Added 6-21-03
A New York teen-ager alleged on Thursday that teachers violated her civil rights when they suspended her from school for wearing a "Barbie is a Lesbian" T-shirt. Click for More

Dallas Independent School District may end paddling
Added 6-20-03
DISD administrators are proposing an end, or at least a sharp curtailing, to one of the oldest forms of schoolhouse punishment: the paddle. But the idea of ending corporal punishment is meeting resistance from black trustees who cite a cultural preference for paddling. Click for More

Teens chafe as mall sets chaperone policy
Added 6-17-03
Fourteen-year-old Robert McIntyre likes to shop at the Electronics Boutique or the shoe stores at Northgate Mall, or just "hang out with friends to get a break from a big week at school." He is one of many teens who are upset about the mall's new policy requiring customers under 16 to be accompanied by an adult on Friday and Saturday nights. Click for More

17 year old Israelis go to the polls
Added 6-9-03
For the first time, 17 year old Israelis will be going to the polls today in special elections for mayors of some of the country's largest towns and cities. Click for More

Candian Supreme Court hears arguments against spanking
Added 6-8-03
Anti-spanking advocates carried their cause to the country's highest court yesterday, arguing corporal punishment of children should be outlawed as an affront to human dignity. "This case is about the right of children not to be hit, a right that in a modern, 21st-century democracy should be unquestioned," lawyer Paul Schabas told the Supreme Court of Canada. Click for More

Court strikes down St. Louis video game law
Added 6-6-03
A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down as unconstitutional a St. Louis County law limiting children's access to violent video games. The ordinance, passed by the St. Louis County Council in 2000, requires children under age 17 to have parental consent to buy violent or sexually explicit video games or play similar arcade games. Click for More

Federal court strikes down Conn. curfew
Added 6-5-03
Vernon Police Chief Rudolf Rossmy said Tuesday that parents are the losers in a federal appeals court decision to overturn a youth curfew in his town. Click for More

Let My Teenager Drink
Added 6-5-03
My 16-year-old called me from a bar. She said my 17-year-old was there, too, along with the rest of the gang from high school: "Everything's fine, Dad. We'll be home after last call." Click for More

Student Seeks to Make a Difference
Added 6-3-03
Tia M. Young, a junior at Suitland High School, has been elected by her fellow student leaders to serve a one-year term on the Prince George's County Board of Education. Click for More

Universities under fire over ‘free-speech zones’
Added 6-1-03
Time and again, Ruben Reyes asked the University of Texas at El Paso for permission to hold protests about environmental dangers, the administration and censorship — typical stuff for a campus demonstration. Click for More

Spying for Love
Added 5-31-03
Parents want to know what their kids are up to, but does that give them the right to monitor their every move? Should teenagers be allowed some privacy? Click for More

Youth Rebellion at Costa Rican Gulag School
Added 5-27-03
Dundee Ranch, the latest foreign outpost in a far-flung affiliation of behavior modification programs that promises to convert troubled American teenagers into straight arrows, lasted 19 months before the students rose up in revolt and overthrew their masters. Click for More

Ageism in reverse
Added 5-26-03
It's not only older workers who are discriminated against. A new survey reveals that young employees suffer too, says Kate Hilpern of the UK's The Guardian Click for More

Teen behavior modification centers go abroad to evade law
Added 5-25-03
Ryan Fraidenburgh was 14 when he was brought here shackled, kicking and screaming. Two men carrying handcuffs and leg irons came for him at his mother's home in Sacramento, shoved him into a van and bound him hand and foot. Click for More

Free Speech for Rednecks Protected
Added 5-20-03
The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider whether students can be barred from taking their redneck humor to class. Justices rejected an appeal from a metro area school district that wanted the court to allow it to bar redneck attire. Click for More

Students jeer, parents cheer over uniforms
Added 5-19-03
Reggie Knighten and DeMarco Carter II both attend Bowsher High School. They wear matching black do-rags on their heads, "hoodie" shirts on their backs, and Nike Jordans on their feet. Both think wearing a school uniform would be a blow to their individuality. Click for More

Report Details the Folly of 'Zero Tolerance'
Added 5-16-03
In what's billed as a "first-of-its-kind" report, a public policy group called the Advancement Project noted, "In school district after school district, an inflexible and unthinking zero tolerance approach to an exaggerated juvenile-crime problem is derailing the educational process." Click for More

Oreos too dangerous for kids, suit says
Added 5-13-03
Children in California may have to give up their Oreos, if a lawsuit filed by a San Francisco public interest lawyer is successful. The lawsuit, filed May 1 in Marin County Superior Court, seeks a ban on the black-and- white cookies, arguing that the trans fats that make the filling creamy and the cookie crisp are too dangerous for children to eat. Click for More

In Baltimore, some get to vote at age 16
Added 5-11-03
Many of Baltimore's 16-year-olds will be eligible to vote in September's primary - an anomaly in election history, officials say. The unusually long, 14-month gap between the Sept. 9 primary and next year's general election created this oddity Click for More

Burger ban urged for children
Added 4-30-03
Health officials have suggested that it be made illegal to sell junk food to children. They want a ban written into a new health law to meet concerns about child obesity. A minimum legal age for being able to eat such food is one of a number of ideas floated in a Ministry of Health discussion document Click for More

NJ Mulls Hiking Legal Smoking Age to 21
Added 4-30-03
When it comes to tobacco, New Jersey has been a leader at making it harder and costlier to smoke. Now, legislators want to raise the legal age for buying tobacco, a step that would make it the only state in the nation where you must be 21 to smoke. Click for More

High Score Education
Added 4-29-03
The US spends almost $50 billion each year on education, so why aren't kids learning? Forty percent of students lack basic reading skills, and their academic performance is dismal compared with that of their foreign counterparts. Fortunately, we've got Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Deus X. Click for More

Zero Tolerance Or Zero Common Sense?
Added 4-24-03
Parents are laughing at the intolerance of the zero tolerance rules that have been instituted in so many public schools. Laughing, that is, unless it is their own sons who are victimized by policies that seem to lack common sense. Click for More

Youths appealing ruling that keeps voting age at 18
Added 4-23-03
Two teens are appealing a court decision which denied their application to give voting privileges to 16 and 17 year-olds. Click for More

Girl Sues N.Y. to be Grad at 14
Added 4-22-03
Angela Lipsman is not your typical 14-year-old city kid - she's earned enough college credits to obtain a degree. But here's the rub: She's never set foot in high school, and Albany won't grant her a high-school equivalency diploma because she's too young. Click for More

Supreme Court to Look at Age Bias Case
Added 4-21-03
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to look at whether middle-aged workers can sue their employers for treating older workers better. Click for More

Bill drops teenage wages
Added 4-19-03
Alaska businesses would be able to pay anyone under 20 less than minimum wage under a bill approved this week by a House committee. The bill also would loosen rules on flex time arrangements and do away with some state rules governing when employees can be put on salary, Click for More

Free speech zones lawsuit may delay student rights bill
Added 4-19-03
The co-president of the university chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has been working behind the scenes with administration officials in hopes that a freedom of speech lawsuit filed last month could be the catalyst for the integration of a long-in-the-works student bill of rights. Click for More

ACLU sides with censored student journalist
Added 4-8-03
A 17-year-old Utica High School journalist has received help in her battle with school officials over censorship. The American Civil Liberties Union announced Monday it has filed a lawsuit against Utica Community Schools on behalf of student reporter Katy Dean. Click for More

Student award revoked for speaking out
Added 4-8-03
Students of all ages around the country have been voicing their opinions about the issues surrounding the war with Iraq. We can walk out, protest and chant because it is our right. But now a university has decided that they have the power to censor it. Click for More

Liberals, conservatives for student rights
Added 3-27-03
Civil libertarians from across the political spectrum gathered at the National Press Club Tuesday to welcome a series of guides to student rights on campus. Click for More

Panel OKs lowering voting age in Maine
Added 3-26-03
A legislative committee's majority voted Tuesday in favor of dropping Maine's voting age by a year so 17-year-olds can cast ballots, leaving the sponsor pleasantly surprised. Click for More

Moscow Considers Curfew
Added 3-26-03
A group of governors, government officials and lawmakers are urging the state to introduce a night curfew for teenagers to cut down on a recent rise in crime rates among young people. Click for More

Success of teen curfew debated
Added 3-17-03
In Keyur Bhatt's second-period geography class at North Dallas High School, students know about the city's juvenile curfew ordinance, but most of them boast they don't heed it. "Even if some of those kids pay attention, it's not cool to say so," said Mr. Bhatt, a student teacher. Click for More

Accused kid must be told of rights
Added 3-17-03
The state Court of Appeals said Friday that juveniles who are pleading guilty to criminal activity must be taken through the same detailed procedure that an adult is. The fact that it is a published decision shows that appellate courts are paying more attention to juvenile court proceedings, said Kim Brooks, executive director of the Children's Law Center Click for More

The Supreme Debate
Added 3-6-03
The U.S. Supreme Court today will hear arguments in one of the Internet's most incendiary policy scuffles -- whether public schools and libraries must use software to block sexual content from the Internet if they want to receive federal funding for technology improvements. Click for More

Congress vs. Gamers: Round two
Added 3-1-03
Later today, Rep. Joe Baca (D. Calif.) is expected to stand on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and introduce the "Protect Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act of 2003." Click for More

Alcohol Industry Says Study on Alcohol Abuse Flawed
Added 2-27-03
A recent study of alcohol consumption by teen drinkers and alcohol abusers is an "attempt to manipulate data to get sensational headlines," representatives of the alcohol industry said Wednesday. Click for More

School uniforms unlikely
Added 2-24-03
Uniforms are out, but belts and knee-length skirts are making a comeback. Escambia County School Board member John DeWitt announced Friday that he no longer supports a mandatory uniform policy for all district schools. Instead, DeWitt wants a return to an earlier proposal that stipulates a strict dress code Click for More

For Sweet 16 gift, Boca girl wants the right to vote
Added 2-22-03
Forget a video cell phone, Jay-Z's latest CD or even a driver's license. What Miranda Rosenberg really wants for her 16th birthday is the right to vote. "Why not?" asks the sophomore honor student at Suncoast High School in Riviera Beach. "I work and pay taxes, but I don't get a voice about how that money is spent. It's not fair." Click for More

New law jeopardizes all-ages concerts
Added 2-20-03
Bars may be forced to cancel all-ages shows and re-evaluate how to hold events with minors under a state law that goes into effect today. For people under 21 to be present at an establishment with a liquor license, there will have to be one attentive chaperone over the age of 25 for every five minors. Click for More

Morocco Lowers Voting Age
Added 2-18-03
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has announced that the voting age will be lowered from 20 to 18. This is being seen an attempt to interest the younger generation in politics and thwart the rise of radical Islamist groups. Click for More

Assembly foils try to lower voting age
Added 2-13-03
The Anchorage Assembly fell one vote short of asking voters if they want to change the municipal charter and lower the voting age in city elections from 18 years to 16. But the Assembly on Tuesday did place a nonbinding version of the question on the April 1 ballot. Click for More

Give babies a vote, says think-tank
Added 2-7-03
Parents should be given extra votes to cast on behalf of their children and the voting age should be lowered to 14, says a leading think-tank. A new report from Demos says children are getting a bigger say in family life but are becoming "invisible citizens" in the public sphere. Click for More

If You Are in High School, Do This:
Added 1-28-03
At present, I am 27, married and the father of one daughter. When I was in high school, I was an expert at not going to class. I skipped at least 50% of them, especially in the last two years, and I think I learned more for it. Click for More

Making Trouble, Youth Storm the Media
Added 1-28-03
Whether it's the New York Times, CBS or Seventeen magazine, teenagers are often criminalized, consumerized or erased in the media. But through activism in social justice movements and by claiming space for their own voices, young people across the country today are demanding a different kind of attention. Click for More

Teen drug programs turn curious teens into crackheads
Added 1-28-03
America loves its quick fixes. Think your child might be on drugs? Test him. Think your child's school is full of addicts? Test them all. Institute a policy of zero tolerance: One strike and it's off to a drug treatment program. Get those rotten apples out and clean them up before they can poison the whole batch. Click for More