The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging what it calls "prolonged, coercive interrogations" of two Davis students earlier this year, and asking the school district to change policies to prevent a repeat.

Alana de Hinojosa and a second unnamed student were questioned by a Davis police officer at their schools in May after de Hinojosa wrote about graffiti and the other student did a documentary on it.

"During questioning, I felt I was coerced, intimidated and lied to," de Hinojosa said by phone, speaking of her two sessions of questioning. "I felt very much threatened."

The ACLU of Northern California sent the Davis Joint Unified School District a detailed letter this week, outlining a version of the events, citing legal precedents and calling for the district to better protect students.

The district differs with the ACLU on what happened, but says it agrees with most of its suggestions.

"Three of the requests are quite reasonable," said Superintendent Winfred B. Roberson Jr. "The fourth is well beyond our authority."

That latter request is for the district to notify parents before police are allowed to question students at school.

"California law has long recognized that law enforcement personnel have the right to question students at school without parental consent," Roberson wrote in a prepared statement.

According to the ACLU, Davis High School officials pulled de Hinojosa out of class twice for police questioning after she ran her story about graffiti in the school paper.

Having had journalism training and Advanced Placement government classes, she felt her rights were being violated, and that school officials were aiding the officer in putting unwarranted pressure on her, though she was not suspected of any crime.

"I knew as a reporter I don't have to disclose my sources," de Hinojosa said. "The officer even told me that I was not a journalist."

After the second questioning, her journalism adviser insisted de Hinojosa, now 19, call the ACLU or the Student Press Law Center.

The ACLU considers the detention of de Hinojosa and the other student, a filmmaker at Da Vinci Charter School, to be unlawful seizures under the Fourth Amendment, said Linda Lye, a staff attorney with the civil liberties group.

In addition, Lye wrote in her letter to the district, "the use of threats and intimidation during the interrogations interfered with both students' exercise of their rights."

Although the letter is peppered with legal citations, Lye said the ACLU is primarily interested in working with the district to improve policies.

"Davis could be a leader on this issue," she said.

In addition to requesting parental notification before questioning, the ACLU wants the district to revise policies on allowing police interrogation, train school personnel on students' rights and advise students of those rights before any interrogations.

The district continues to review and revise those policies, Roberson said, but it cannot provide parental notification before questioning.

"We as a district do make it our business to inform parents as soon as possible when students have contact with law enforcement," Roberson said.

Lye commended the district for notifying parents and agreed they could not thwart law enforcement, but said the district should do more to inform students – especially those not suspected of any crime – of their rights not to talk to police.

"The district should not be facilitating an involuntary interrogation of students by police officers when they're not suspected of any crimes," she said.

Gabriel J. Chin, a UC Davis law professor, said he deemed the district's actions as described by the ACLU as "dubious."

Hospitals have similar obligations not to hinder investigations, "but that doesn't mean they pull somebody out of an operation," he said.

Questioning students at school by police is unusual and, in this case, not clearly justified, said Samantha Buckingham, a clinical professor of law at Loyola Law School.

"This should be a time devoted to educating students," she said.

Whether the questioning was appropriate may depend on just how the students were taken out of class and told to speak with the police officer, she said.

Even the tone in which things were said could be relevant, Buckingham said.

Roberson, without addressing specifics, said the school district disagrees with the ACLU on what happened during the questioning.

"Those facts don't line up with ours," he said.

District officials acted appropriately and according to policies, he said.

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