Teaching the Constitution

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Ted Dolotta" <Ted () Dolotta ORG>
Date: December 3, 2004 11:48:49 AM EST
To: "IP List" <dfarber () cs cmu edu>
Subject: Teaching the Constitution
Reply-To: <Ted () Dolotta ORG>

Will it make for a better citizenry?

Ted Dolotta
=======================================
From the Chronicle of Higher Education

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat and the Senate's
unofficial constitutional scholar, has inserted language into the
final $388-billion spending bill for 2005 requiring that any
educational institution that receives federal aid offer its students
an instructional program on the U.S. Constitution each September 17,
the anniversary of its signing.

The provision took higher-education leaders by surprise. They said
they had not been consulted about it.

Because the rider does not specifically exclude colleges, higher-
education officials assume it applies to their institutions, as well
as elementary and secondary schools, said Becky Timmons, director of
government relations at the American Council on Education, an umbrella
group that lobbies for colleges.

A spokesman for Senator Byrd, Tom Gavin, said the measure would apply
to all public and private institutions, including colleges, that
receive federal money.

Ms. Timmons said college leaders are concerned that the provision
could set a precedent in which Congress feels free to issue curricular
requirements. The U.S. Department of Education is expressly prohibited
from establishing a national curriculum.

The language does not specify how the instruction should be carried
out. Mr. Gavin said he expects the Education Department to issue a
rule or letter of guidance to colleges and schools in the coming
weeks.

The final spending bill has been tied up by an unrelated controversy
over a provision giving members of the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees the authority to review individual federal tax returns (The
Chronicle, December 3). The legislation has not yet been signed by
President Bush.

In a written statement, Senator Byrd said Americans need to better
understand the Constitution and its importance. "We can build upon the
respect and reverence we still hold for our Constitution," the senator
said. "But we had better start now, before, through ignorance and
apathy, even that much slips away from us."

Senator Byrd's reverence for the Constitution is well known on Capitol
Hill. He habitually carries a copy of the document in an inside breast
pocket of his suit, and he has been known to flourish it during heated
arguments on the Senate floor. He has also written multivolume
histories of the U.S. Senate and the Roman Senate.

The eight-term senator has previously used his position as the
highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee to
make far-reaching policy statements in the end-of-the-year spending
bills. In 2000, for example, he added a last-minute provision giving
money from import duties paid by foreign companies to their American
competitors. That rider sparked a serious trade dispute with the
European Union and a half-dozen other countries.

Copyright c 2004 by The Chronicle of Higher Education






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