Legal Summary: Constitution Day and Federal Employees

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, Library of Congress, Free Republic ^ | Today | John Filson (editor)

[John Filson]

In short, this legislation requires federal employees to spend time near Constitution Day at their department's direction. The new rules do not refer to a 'living document.' It also changes US Code describing September 17th to be Constitution Day instead of citizenship day.

See also Indy Pendance's WP article thread: Skip to comments.

New Law Requires Workers To Learn About Constitution (Federal Employees)

[John Filson]

Notice of Implementation of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on September 17 of Each Year

FR Doc 05-10355
[Federal Register: May 24, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 99)]
[Notices]               
[Page 29727]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24my05-48]                         
Correction Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Notice of Implementation of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on September 17 of Each Year

AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of implementation of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement announces that, pursuant to legislation passed by Congress, educational institutions receiving Federal funding are required to hold an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution on September 17 of each year. This notice implements this provision as it applies to educational institutions receiving Federal funding from the Department.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alex Stein, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W218, Washington, DC 20202- 5910. Telephone: (202) 895-9085 or via Internet: Alex.Stein@ed.gov. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339. Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person listed in section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs educational institutions receiving Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education (Department) of a new statutory requirement for implementation of an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution, on a date designated by statute as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day (``Constitution Day''). This Congressional initiative is authorized by Section 111 of Division J of Pub. L. 108-447, the ``Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005,'' Dec. 8, 2004; 118 Stat. 2809, 3344-45 (Section 111). The Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement (Assistant Deputy Secretary) takes this action in order to implement this provision as it applies to educational institutions receiving Federal funding from the Department. Section 111(b) states ``[e]ach educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution.'' For purposes of the Department's implementation of this requirement, ``educational institutions'' includes but is not limited to ``local educational agencies'' and ``institutions of higher education'' receiving Federal funding from the Department. Section 111 applies to all educational institutions receiving Federal funding, not only those receiving Federal funding from the Department. However, the Department's authority only extends to those educational institutions receiving funding from the Department, and consequently the Department can only regulate with regard to those institutions. Section 111 requires that Constitution Day be held on September 17 of each year, commemorating the September 17, 1787 signing of the Constitution. However, when September 17 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, Constitution Day shall be held during the preceding or following week. Section 111 does not authorize funds to carry out this requirement, and Section 111(d) indicates that this section shall apply ``without fiscal year limitation.'' Accordingly, the Assistant Deputy Secretary intends that this notice pertain to this fiscal year and all subsequent years. Some informational resources pertaining to the Constitution are listed below. In addition to these, the Department is aware that there may be other public and private resources available that may be helpful to educational institutions in implementing Constitution Day. While the Department does not endorse any particular program or Web site, this information is provided because it may be of use to educational institutions developing their Constitution Day programs. One of the Library of Congress' repositories for Constitutional documents and information may be accessed at:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/bdsdhome.html.

The National Archives also has a Web site with a scan of the U.S. Constitution available online at:
http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution.html: In addition, the

National Archives has a nationwide network of research facilities, including presidential libraries that welcome students as young as 14 years of age. Information about the facilities (by region and state) can be located online at: http://www.archives.gov/facilities/index.html.

In addition to the resources mentioned above, it is our understanding that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will be making available to all Federal agencies, information to help train and educate Federal employees on the Constitution and, in particular, its relationship to the Oath of Office Federal employees take. This information will be posted shortly on the OPM Web site, at: http://www.opm.gov/. We expect that educational institutions may find this

material useful in planning their Constitution Day activities. Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as well as all other Department of Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.

To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

Note: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.

Dated: May 19, 2005. Nina Shokraii Rees, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement. [FR Doc. 05-10355 Filed 5-23-05; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P

H.R.4818 DIVISION J--OTHER MATTERS, SEC. 111.

       SEC. 111. (a) The head of each Federal agency or department shall--

(1) provide each new employee of the agency or department with educational and training materials concerning the United States Constitution as part of the orientation materials provided to the new employee; and

(2) provide educational and training materials concerning the United States Constitution to each employee of the agency or department on September 17 of each year.

(b) Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution.

(c) Title 36 of the United States Code, is amended--

(1) in section 106--

(A) in the heading, by inserting `Constitution Day and' before `Citizenship Day';

(B) in subsection (a), by striking `is Citizenship Day.' and inserting `is designated as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.';

(C) in subsection (b)--

(i) by inserting `Constitution Day and' before `Citizenship Day';

(ii) by striking `commemorates' and inserting `commemorate'; and

(iii) by striking `recognizes' and inserting `recognize';

(D) in subsection (c), by inserting `Constitution Day and' before `Citizenship Day' both places such term appears; and

(E) in subsection (d), by inserting `Constitution Day and' before `Citizenship Day'; and

(2) in the item relating to section 106 of the table of contents, by inserting `Constitution Day and' before `Citizenship Day'.

(d) This section shall be without fiscal year limitation.

[John Filson]

ping - nothing about "living document" here

[Hegemony Cricket]

ping

[John Filson]

...spend time near constitution day studying the constitution.

[45Auto]

This is all the bastards have to know:

Bill of Rights

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

[John Filson]

Yes, feds, we have a right to bear military grade arms.

[justshutupandtakeit]

So you believe the add-ons considered unnecessary by the Founders are more important than the actual Constitution.

[John Filson]

The founders did see them as necessary, that's why they were ratified in the beginning.

[jan in Colorado]

Thanks for the ping!

Did you see this yesterday? Sounds like the law applies to more than just Federal employees!

Law Requires Lessons on Constitution

[jan in Colorado]

Constitution Ping!

[45Auto]

The body of the Constitution is a simple and plain map of just how restricted the powers and authority of the federal government are. The B of R makes plain exactly where government (and its employees) can not go.

[Rabid Dog]

Interesting that it is "Citizenship Day" as well.

[John Filson]

I've started thinking about the Constitution as outlining where the government can go, instead of where it can't. I think that's an easier way to see that the rights of man come from above, and the constitution reserves certain powers to itself in clear-cut, legal terms. It's only because we've started thinking that the constitution gives us our rights that we're losing them!

[patriot_wes]

Here's a good place to start...

What the Supreme Court said about taxes and the Constitution.

[45Auto]

Its no accident that we think about the Constitution in a backwards manner; the RAT-bastards and their sycophantic allies in the MSM have been brainwashing us for 40 years. The federal judiciary has been of little help because it does not do its number one job: insisting on the Constitutional limitations of government by slapping down ambitious and unscrupulous politicians and the unconstitutional laws which they write. Today the Constitution has been turned upside down: it is no longer a limiting document on the authority of government, but a document that has been interpreted as limiting the liberty of the citizens.

[Gondring]

nothing about "living document" here

Not according to Senator Robert K.K.K. Byrd... his commemorative speech on this legislation emphasized his claim that it's "living"...

[justshutupandtakeit]

Both statements are false.

The Constitution is NOT simple but to the simple minded. That is why there are thousands of books written about it.
It was NOT written to limit federal authority. It was written to limit STATE authority and EXPAND federal authority.

The originators/writers of the document, Madison and Hamilton, were not in favor of a BoR only agreeing to mollify opposition to ratification.

The common myths you stated are the result of paying more attention to propagandists than to historical fact.

[justshutupandtakeit]

You are obviously not aware of the history of the constitution and its ratification. The BoR was only adopted because of promises made to the antis both M and H believed it was unnecessary and even dangerous. Read some history on this there is no controversy in my statement.

[45Auto]

"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power not longer susceptible of any definition."

-- Thomas Jefferson, Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, February 15, 1791

[45Auto]

"Resolved, That the General Assembly of Virginia, doth unequivocally express a firm resolution to maintain and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of this State, against every aggression either foreign or domestic ... That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the compact, to which the states are parties; as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting the compact; as no further valid than they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that in case of deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them."

-- James Madison, 1799