Schools must teach the Constitution

01/04/05 -- The omnibus appropriations bill, signed into law by President Bush last month, not only provides the smallest increase in education funding in over a decade, it also includes a provision requiring public schools to teach students about the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17 of every year.

Sept. 17 has been designated Constitution Day to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on that date in 1787.

The amendment was sponsored by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), a strong advocate of the Constitution who keeps a copy of the document in his pocket.

The provision calls for “every educational institution that receives federal funds [to] “hold an educational program on the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17 for [its] students.”

“The United States will survive and flourish as long as we know our nation’s history and so long as we defend the Constitution and what it stands for,” says Byrd. “While our educational system is good at ingraining feelings of respect and reverence for our Constitution, that same system is in need of great improvements in teaching what is actually in the Constitution and just why it is so important to our daily lives.”

Dan Fuller, director of federal programs at NSBA, says: “Public schools already teach the Constitution as part of U.S. history, civics, or social studies and don’t need another invasive, federal mandate telling them what to teach or when. Sept. 17 could be the fourth week of school in some districts or the fourth day in others.”

“It should be up to local educators and school boards to determine what should be taught and the appropriate chronology,” Fuller says. “Congress can be most helpful to schools by funding the education programs.”