Founded in 1935, American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa (ACLU of Iowa), is the nation’s fifth-oldest state affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU of Iowa is a non-profit membership organization that promotes and defends the values reflected in the Bill of Rights and Article I of the Iowa Constitution through public advocacy and outreach, lobbying, and litigation.
Our cases generally involve a legally or culturally significant challenge to governmental actions, practices, laws or polices restricting individual rights. Often, our cases involve free speech, religious freedom, equality, due process, personal privacy and autonomy. Given the wide reach of the Bill of Rights, the ACLU of Iowa consistently works with a diverse range of individuals and groups, including pro-life, pro-choice, religious, public service, minority, and media groups.
Most notably, the ACLU of Iowa successfully defended the free speech rights of students in the United State Supreme Court case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District.