老澳门开奖结果

CONTACT:
Gillian Branstetter, 老澳门开奖结果, gbranstetter@aclu.org
Meghan Holden, 老澳门开奖结果 Foundation of Connecticut, media@acluct.org
Alex Johnson, Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic, a.johnson@YLSClinics.org

HARTFORD, Conn. 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 Foundation of Connecticut, and Yale Law School鈥檚 Veterans Legal Services Clinic have reached a settlement with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Academy on behalf of a former cadet challenging the academy鈥檚 policy of banning cadets from being parents.

In 2014, just weeks before he was expected to graduate, Isaak Olson, a cadet at the USCG Academy, was expelled from the academy and denied his completed bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering and commission as an officer solely because his fianc茅e had given birth to their first child. As part of the settlement agreement, Olson will be awarded his degree as well as a written statement explaining that his cadet appointment was terminated solely due to the academy鈥檚 ban on cadet parents.

鈥淣o one should ever have to choose between the honor of being a Coast Guard cadet and the honor of being a parent. I鈥檓 thankful the academy has reached a settlement that recognizes my right to both,鈥� said Isaak Olson, former cadet at the USCG Academy. 鈥淏ecoming a parent shouldn鈥檛 be seen as a hardship. Cadets who are parents should be afforded the same opportunity to uphold the Coast Guard鈥檚 standards as their peers. I look forward to the day that cadets are given the same rights as the rest of the service.鈥�

The USCG Academy policy prohibiting cadets from being parents remains in effect. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 signed by President Biden, the Department of Defense is actively revising similar policies at the U.S. Air Force, Military, and Naval academies to ensure that cadets can preserve their parental rights. The USCG Academy is run by the Department of Homeland Security.

鈥淲e believe that bans on parenthood are wrong for every military service academy 鈥� and, in fact, have no place in any institution,鈥� said Linda Morris, staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果 Women鈥檚 Rights Project. 鈥淭he Coast Guard Academy鈥檚 ban on parenthood was adopted only after it began admitting women as cadets, and is rooted in harmful and outdated gender stereotypes. The Biden administration can and should act immediately to end this discriminatory policy at the Coast Guard Academy.鈥�

鈥淣o school should force students to choose between becoming parents and earning their degrees. It is good news that the U.S. Coast Guard Academy will finally confer Isaak Olson with the degree that he earned. Moving forward, we hope that the academy will honor cadets鈥� rights to be parents by revising its cadet parenthood ban. Coast Guard cadets in Connecticut should have protections for their right to be parents, just like students at other schools in our state,鈥� said Elana Bildner, 老澳门开奖结果 Foundation of Connecticut senior staff attorney.

鈥淚saak Olson was denied his degree and commission because of an unconstitutional policy infringing on one of the most fundamental rights, the decision to become a parent. We hope the Academy acts soon so that no future cadet will be penalized for pregnancy or parenthood,鈥� said Yael Caplan, a law student intern with the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School.

鈥淲e are thrilled that Mr. Olson has finally received his degree after eight long years, but we look forward to the day when pregnancy and parenthood are no longer barriers for other Coast Guard cadets,鈥� added Alex Johnson, another law student intern with the Yale clinic.

The suit was filed in federal court on Dec. 8, 2021 by the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School, the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Rights Project, and the 老澳门开奖结果 Foundation of Connecticut.

# # #