The American Civil Liberties Union is asking that the Esmeralda County school district in Nevada lift a ban on speaking Spanish while on a school bus. The ACLU and its Nevada chapter have charged that forbidding students from speaking Spanish while riding the school bus violates their free speech rights and discriminates against children of Latino background. According to the ACLU:

The Esmeralda School District’s policy that prohibits speaking Spanish on the bus was approved by the Esmeralda County School Board in October 2007.

It affects about a dozen high school students from a small farming and ranching community in Esmeralda who are bused by the Esmeralda County school district several miles – over an hour each way – to Tonopah High School in neighboring Nye County. As a consequence of the rule, those whose English skills are weak must refrain almost entirely from speaking during the long bus ride. Since all Spanish is banned on the bus, the rule also prevents all students from discussing or completing their Spanish homework assignments while on the bus.

Oh Esmeralda [Ed. Note: Isn’t that a Spanish name?], let the Latinitos speak! Don’t you know the chonga girls always have the best gossip?

Letter to Esmeralda County School District Superintendent Robert Aumaugher [ACLU]