Constitution Day opens student season

Link to sample video Celebrate Freedom: 10-06-13 Video Link CelebFreedom Sample

Civics and social studies teachers are urged to start planning now for an autumn program to help students understand theircivil liberties. For details on the programs described below, e-mail (click here->Field Organizer Dionne Foster

Friday September 17, commemorating the signing of the U.S. Constitution, is by federal mandate an occasion for all public school students to get an introduction to their civil rights.

The ACLU of Connecticut has a DVD designed to prod students into thinking about civil liberties. Click on the icon to the left to preview an excerpt of that video. Trained volunteers are prepared to come into classrooms, by invitation only, to engage students in a dialogue. (Teachers who feel comfortable presenting the program themselves after helping our volunteers do it may have a copy of the DVD video episodes and a CD of backup materials, including suggested teaching guides and some of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that bear on student rights.)

Although we have a cadre of members who have been trained to conduct Celebrate Freedom programs, more are welcome. Please phone or e-mail Andrew Schneider, executive director

That's only the beginning:

On Thursday September 30, the ACLU of Connecticut will join the Hartford Public Library in a program focussing on the many literary masterpiece that have from time to time been suppressed: Banned Books Week.

On Wednesday October 27, the ACLU-CT will host a one-day high school forum on civil liberties. (See details at right)

Program details: "High School Conference Invitation"

To get a sense of past programs, visit these sites:

Conference Explores Freedom of Expression & School Dress Codes

Students Explore Constitutional Protections for Controversial Symbol

Celebrating Banned Books & Music

Soon after the new year, the ACLU will invite students to compete for a $1,000 first prize for an essay exploring a civil liberties topic to be decided soon. For a look at the 2009 winners and their essays, visit

Sorokin essay winners named

Essay winners will be recognized at the annual Milton Sorokin Symposium in late spring. For a look at past winning entries, visit

Students Explore Constitutional Protections for Controversial Symbol

October 27 High School Conference

Dan Weisman, who with his daughter Debbie brought what proved to be a landmark case clarifying the separation of church and state, will be the featured speaker at the ACLU-CT/CFAR high school conference on the First Amendment October 27.

When the principal of a Providence, Rhode Island middle school invited a Jewish rabbi to deliver a prayer at the 1989 graduation ceremony, the Weismans sought a temporary restraining order to bar the rabbi from speaking. Although that effort failed, the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court held that the prayer should not have been part of the program.

"It is a cornerstone principle of our Establishment Clause jurisprudence," Justice Kennedy wrote for the Court majority, "that it is no part of the business of government to compose official prayers for any group of the American people to recite as a part of a religious program carried on by government, and that is what the school officials attempted to do."

Dan Weisman may be joined by his daughter at this year's high school conference, a long morning on Wednesday, October 27 at St. Joseph's College in West Hartford. An overview of the topic will be offered by Mark Silk, professor of religion at Trinity College. After the formal presentations, students will go to breakout sessions to explore the establishment clause in detail.

The program is open to high school classes from throughout the state. Teachers are encouraged to contact the ACLU of Connecticut at schools@acluct.org to explore bringing students to the conference.