The Bill of Rights at the Schoolhouse Gate
Press Release · Monday, December 14, 2020

Washington, DC

On Bill of Rights Day, Tuesday, December 15, at 6:30 p.m. (ET) the National Archives marks the 229th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights with a virtual discussion about the application of the Bill of Rights in public schools in “The Bill of Rights at the Schoolhouse Gate.” Register to attend. Watch the program livestreamed on the National Archives YouTube channel. See our National Archives News Bill of Rights Day page for related programs and online resources.

The Bill of Rights at the Schoolhouse Gate
Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 6:30 - 8 p.m. (ET)
Do the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights apply to public schools? Throughout their schooling, students are taught about the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Join the National Archives and iCivics for a timely discussion about the application of the Bill of Rights in schools. Moderated by Stephen Wermiel, Professor of Practice of Law, American University, Washington College of Law, and monthly columnist for SCOTUSblog, panelists include Linda Monk, author of The Bill of Rights: A User's Guide; Mary Beth Tinker, plaintiff in U.S. Supreme Court Case Tinker v. Des Moines Iowa Independent School District; and Justin Driver, Yale Law School professor and author of The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind. Presented in partnership with iCivics.

Bill of Rights Day commemorates the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791. In President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 proclamation , he asked that December 15 be “set apart as a day of mobilization for freedom and for human rights, a day of remembrance of the democratic and peaceful action by which these rights were gained, a day of reassessment of their present meaning and their living worth.” For 228 years, this landmark document has guaranteed our freedoms of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for redress of grievances.