August 28, 2003
Nation's Largest Bipartisan Legislative Event Takes State Lawmakers 'Back to School'
Lessons in nation's form of government, public responsibility are key components of 'America's Legislators Back to School Week'
DENVER - More than 250,000 students from Maine to California will meet with their state lawmakers in the third week of September for the nation's largest bipartisan civic education outreach.
Nearly one-third of the nation's 7,382 state legislators will take part in the National Conference of State Legislatures' fifth consecutive "America's Legislators Back to School Week," September 15-19. The program provides state legislators with classroom tools and exercises to bring representative democracy to life and let the nation's students know that their ideas matter.
"'America's Legislators Back to School Week' is essentially the nation's largest civic lesson," said Karl Kurtz, who coordinates NCSL's Trust for Representative Democracy program, a civic education initiative designed to engage young people and build their understanding and support for America's democratic institutions. "This is the fifth year where we provide a unique opportunity for state legislators and students to exchange ideas and explore legislative concepts face to face."
Slated for the third week of every September, this special program gives elected officials in all 50 states the opportunity to meet personally with their young constituents and to answer questions, share ideas, listen to concerns and impart a greater understanding of the legislative processes necessary for developing effective public policy.
NCSL introduced the America's Legislators Back to School program in 1999, as a one-day event, to provide a contemporary approach for engaging the American student population in understanding the value of democracy. The program was so successful that it was expanded into a one-week event in 2001.
"We are grateful to our state legislative coordinators, who work tirelessly to promote the event and provide essential logistic support to state legislators," Kurtz said. "We provide the coordinators with videos, leave-behind educational materials and lesson plans to make the student-legislator experience a memorable one."
Several notable and influential education and public service organizations lend their support to America's Legislators Back to School Week. They include:
American Association of School Administrators
American Federation of Teachers
Center for Civic Education
Center on Congress at Indiana University
Close Up Foundation
Freedom's Answer
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
National Catholic Educational Association
National Constitution Center
National Council for the Social Studies
National Education Association
National Middle School Association
National School Boards Association
Reading Recovery Council of North America
The Dirksen Congressional Center
For more on America's Legislators Back to School Week, visit NCSL's Web site at www.ncsl.org/trust and click on the America's Legislators Back to School Week hyperlink.
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