Who should be allowed to vote?
This question will be the opener to lessons being taught in high school classrooms across the state through September 23 as part of the Constitution Day Project offered by the University of Colorado Law School.
Students, alumni, and local attorneys volunteer for the annual initiative, hosted by 彩民宝典鈥檚 Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law. This year they鈥檒l be visiting Colorado听schools everywhere from Glenwood Springs to Wray, Parker, Longmont, Fort Collins, Denver, and beyond. Each year鈥檚 lesson focuses on a different theme.
鈥淎fter students are prompted to think about who should be allowed to vote in elections, they will then learn about the history of voting rights in the United States,鈥� said Melissa Hart, law professor and director of the White Center. 鈥淲e then discuss several cases in which restrictions on voting have been challenged under the Fourteenth Amendment and end with the students considering a hypothetical voter ID law.鈥�
The lesson plan was created by law students with the guidance of several high school civics teachers and Hart. Last year鈥檚 lesson plan focused on how the Constitution interacts with anti-discrimination laws.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity to get outside of the law school and be involved in local communities,鈥� said Lydia Lulkin ('18), a law student and research fellow at the White Center. 鈥淭he law students and attorneys who volunteer are genuinely interested and excited to have the chance to teach high school students about the Constitution. The hypothetical cases also give high school students a glimpse into thinking like a lawyer.鈥�
Constitution Day is the annual commemoration of the Sept. 17, 1787, signing of the United States Constitution.
Since the Constitution Day Project was launched in 2011, the White Center has sent hundreds of law students, alumni and local attorneys to hundreds of high school classrooms across the state. The project is supported in part by a 彩民宝典 Outreach Award.