Know Your Rights

YOUR RIGHTS

As a young person, you have rights too! It doesn’t matter if you are under 18 or have been in jail or foster care, or if you are pregnant or homeless. This is the place to learn more about your rights and what to do to access and protect them!

I have the right to:

Talk to the judge when I go to court
Receive a copy of my court report or case plan
Keep my court records private, unless the law does not permit me to
Be informed about changes in my case or case plan by my case manager, social worker, probation officer, or attorney
Identity and other important documents

I have the right to:

Remain in my “school of origin” even if I move to a new foster placement
Be enrolled immediately when I change schools. This is true even if you don’t have your immunization records or school transcripts or did not “check out” of your last school
Be enrolled in the same or similar classes I was enrolled in at my last school. My new school counselor must request all records from my old school and calculate all my credits, including any partial credits.
Do the same extracurricular activities and school sports as
other students
NOT pay the application fee when applying to community college
Receive up to $5,000 per year through the Chafee scholarship as well as the maximum amount of federal student aid
Receive special support from your school district and county. Every school district is required to have a “foster youth educational liaison”

I have the right to:

Medicaid until age 26 in California if I am a foster youth
Access to Covered California (potential financial support for health insurance)
Be seen by a doctor, dentist, optometrist, case manager, or mental health provider
A transitional plan when I am working with a case manager

I have the right to:

Feel safe, supported, trusted, comfortable, heard, equal in my relationship
Say no when I don’t want to have sex
My own opinions, to express them, and to be taken seriously
Change my mind
Make mistakes
Decide the pace of my relationships
Process my emotions how I need to
Choose how, when, and where to deal with conflict
Challenge gender roles and stereotypes
Respect my body and have my body respected
Be free from violence, coercion and manipulation
Access mental health services safely and confidentially
Access addiction treatment services safely and confidentially
Express myself through the way I dress and decorate my body
Block anyone on social media that is bothering or harassing me
Refuse sex, even if I am married
End a relationship when and how I want
Choose my friends and see them without my partner controlling my social life
Keep my phone private; I do not have to let me partner see who is texting me or what websites I am using
Abstain from substance use; my partner can not pressure me to use
An EPO (Emergency Protective Order) if my partner is abusing me
Have my cultural identity and values respected
Consent and ask for consent
Be safe
Practice or not practice a faith

I have the right to:

Earn and control my own money
Be taken seriously in interviews and at my job regardless of age, gender, sexuality, mental health, appearance, and ability
Explore and choose my own path and future
Control my own finances
Change my mind about my future job and education goals
Manage my goals and be on my own schedule to achieve my goals
Ask for and receive help
Gain experience and make mistakes in the process
Negotiate my salary and/or hourly wages
Report sexual harassment in the workplace without losing my job

I have the right to:

Be out about your identity and to be yourself at school
Keep my LGBTQ identity private from students and staff
Express myself and speak out about LGBTQ issues; this includes wearing LGBTQ-positive t-shirts, stickers and bracelets, accessing information about LGBTQ issues on school computers, and bringing same-sex dates to prom
Start a GSA (gay straight alliance club) at your school
Be treated equally and to be free from bullying, harassment and discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression
Unbiased and LGBTQ inclusive history education and sexual health education
Assert your gender identity at school
Be addressed by the name and pronouns that correspond with your gender identity
Wear clothing that expresses your gender identity
Participate in sports and PE classes that match your gender identity
Use restrooms and locker rooms that align with your gender identity
Every single right listed in the sexual health rights section

I have the right to:

Remain silent
Ask if you’re free to leave
Refuse a search of my body and my belongings
Refuse a search of your car; only if your car does not have evidence of a crime
Refuse to answer questions about where you were born, what your citizenship is, or how you entered this country
Refuse to let Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into your home unless they have a warrant
Ask ICE agents to show you the warrant
A government appointed lawyer if you cannot afford one
Refuse to say or sign anything without a lawyer
Make a local phone call when you are arrested
Contact your consulate or have an officer contact the consulate to inform them of your arrest
Take pictures of on-duty police in public areas at your school as long as you don’t interfere with what they’re doing. In some states you can also record them
Refuse to let police look at your cell phone and if you do refuse, police have to get a warrant before they can
Keep what’s on your phone private

I have the right to:

Choose how I identify myself regarding my own gender and sexuality
Choose who and how many people I want to be with
Have my pronouns of choice respected
Choose how I show love and not be judged for it
Choose when and if I am ready for pregnancy
Select the best contraceptive method for me
Know my partner’s status and have an open honest conversation about this
Choose how and what I do with my body
Receive accurate information about all your sexual and reproductive health care options
Decide what to do if I get pregnant
Get free or low-cost care if I can’t afford to pay for it in the state of California (Family PACT)
Remain in my school of choice as a pregnant or parenting teen, if I choose to remain in school
Keep my pregnancy private
Keep the decisions I make about my body private
Remain employed while pregnant, if I choose to remain employed
A confidential abortion
Not have my birth control tampered with (ex: partner removing condom mid-intercourse)
Control my own body and sexuality without any form of discrimination, intimidation, coercion, or violence
Report sexual assault or domestic violence without fearing deportation
Use the bathroom I feel best represents my self-identified gender identity in California

**Note to user: You have many rights; more rights than we could ever list here. We encourage you to visit the ACLU's website to learn more.