Should there be a constitutional right to a high-quality public education?
There is no constitutional right to a high-quality public education. Should there be?
By Valerie Strauss -September 17
In 2004, Congress declared Sept. 17 as Constitution Day, a federal holiday that requires all schools that receive federal funding to offer some type of “educational program” on the Constitution, though it doesn’t define what that should be (and it doesn’t have consequences for those that don’t). The effort to establish the day was led by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who died in 2010.
Why is the holiday on Sept. 17? It was the last session of the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, during which the final version of the newly written Constitution was signed by 39 delegates.
Though schools are charged with teaching the Constitution on this holiday (and presumably, on other days as well), public education is not mentioned in the document, with that responsibility left to the states. There is no federal right to a high-quality public education.The late Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) is the reason we now observe September 17th as Constitution day, a federally recognized holiday. Some might say the senator was a fitting champion; he rarely left home without a copy of our nation’s founding document tucked into his jacket pocket.
At his funeral in 2010, many noted that with 51 years in office, Byrd was the longest serving member of the Senate. They would have also known that while running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1952.
On Constitution Day, all K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities receiving federal funds (and all federal agencies) are supposed to host programs devoted to the study and appreciation of the United States Constitution, according to a 2004 law that Byrd championed.
In light of the neglected state of public schools in countless districts throughout the United States, it’s high time that the relationship between education and the Constitution abides more than just an assembly or a 30-minute video in third-period social studies class.
We the people should be guaranteed the right to a high-quality education by the U.S. Constitution, which doesn’t mention public education.
By Valerie Strauss -September 17
In 2004, Congress declared Sept. 17 as Constitution Day, a federal holiday that requires all schools that receive federal funding to offer some type of “educational program” on the Constitution, though it doesn’t define what that should be (and it doesn’t have consequences for those that don’t). The effort to establish the day was led by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who died in 2010.
Why is the holiday on Sept. 17? It was the last session of the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, during which the final version of the newly written Constitution was signed by 39 delegates.
Though schools are charged with teaching the Constitution on this holiday (and presumably, on other days as well), public education is not mentioned in the document, with that responsibility left to the states. There is no federal right to a high-quality public education.The late Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) is the reason we now observe September 17th as Constitution day, a federally recognized holiday. Some might say the senator was a fitting champion; he rarely left home without a copy of our nation’s founding document tucked into his jacket pocket.
At his funeral in 2010, many noted that with 51 years in office, Byrd was the longest serving member of the Senate. They would have also known that while running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1952.
On Constitution Day, all K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities receiving federal funds (and all federal agencies) are supposed to host programs devoted to the study and appreciation of the United States Constitution, according to a 2004 law that Byrd championed.
In light of the neglected state of public schools in countless districts throughout the United States, it’s high time that the relationship between education and the Constitution abides more than just an assembly or a 30-minute video in third-period social studies class.
We the people should be guaranteed the right to a high-quality education by the U.S. Constitution, which doesn’t mention public education.
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