On The Front Lines
Teaching Schools the ABCs of the Constitution in the Classroom
The Rutherford Institute Launches Campaign to Educate Students, Teachers and AdministratorsCHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- In anticipation of students heading back to school, The Rutherford Institute is launching "The ABCs of the U.S. Constitution in the Classroom," a national effort to educate students, parents, teachers and school administrators about how to uphold the Constitution in the public schools. As part of its campaign, The Rutherford Institute is sending a detailed legal memorandum to each of the more than 15,000 public school superintendents across the United States to educate them about the Department of Education's "Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools" and warn them against censoring student religious expression. John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, has also promised to send a free pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution to anyone, student or adult, who requests one.
According to Whitehead, some of the most egregious violations of students' rights occur in relation to school zero tolerance policies and misunderstandings over the separation of church and state. For example, Institute attorneys are representing a kindergartner who was suspended by school officials for using his pointer finger as a gun in a make-believe game of cops-and-robbers. Institute attorneys are also representing a senior high school student who was prevented from singing Celine Dion's song "The Prayer" at her graduation ceremony simply because the song referenced God. By educating students, teachers and administrators about the latest legal developments in these areas, The Rutherford Institute hopes to ensure that their constitutional rights are respected. Starting with "The Rights of Religious Student Groups in Public Schools," The Rutherford Institute will also publish a series of six articles on its website that focus on different aspects of students' and teachers' rights. Other issues to be covered in coming weeks range from "Student Free Speech and Literature Distribution" to "Teacher's Rights" and "Zero-Tolerance and Student Searches." The Institute also has a range of resources on students' rights available in its new online store, including its newest publication,"Do You Know the Bill of Rights?"--a primer on the basic protections found within the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
"As with all of The Rutherford Institute's educational efforts, we carry them out in the hope that it will both raise awareness, as well as fuel debate on the continuing vitality of our first liberties," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute.
Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides legal services at no charge to people whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated. The Institute has emerged as one of the nation's leading advocates of civil liberties and human rights, litigating in the courts and educating the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting individual freedom in the United States and around the world.
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