Sept. 17: schools must teach Constitution.

Ready or not, mandates come. A statutory requirement from the federal government is about to take effect: Every educational institution receiving federal funds or any taxpayer money (that is, every public school) must organize a student program covering the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, dubbed Constitution Day.

Aside from wondering how schools are going to manage a Saturday requirement this year (programs may be held during the previous or following week, according to the U.S. Department of Education's notice of implementation), educators may question the need for federal curricular intervention in this area.

Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who inserted the mandate into a December 2004 spending bill, reportedly did it because he was frustrated at Americans' ignorance of history. The requirement does not specify how the topic should be taught.

That's where national organizations can help. Experts at the Center for Civic Education have been busy taking their curricular materials, such as the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program, and creating a single-day lesson plan for seven different K-12 grade levels. The lessons will be posted online this month as well as disseminated directly to American Association of School Administrators members.

Tam Taylor, director of public relations for the center, says students at all grade levels enjoy learning about their rights and responsibilities, and even those in the early grades can grasp concepts such as justice and authority. "Kids deal with that on the playground everyday," notes Taylor, who sees the value in Constitution Day hut has heard of some educators who are frustrated by the mandate.

"While I think it's a wonderful idea, I'm not sure that honoring the Constitution one day of the week is really a focus that we should have," adds Aaron Siegel, president and CEO of Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, a national nonprofit that aims to inspire awareness of and appreciation for America's founding documents and principles. "The Constitution is a document that should be visited by young people in a formalized program on a regular basis." The nonprofit has been providing teacher programs for about 20 years. Most recently, the foundation has focused on a radio and television campaign that features broadcasts of U.S. governors reading from the Constitution; it's being played at schools throughout the country.

Siegel hopes Constitution Day will be just a beginning for teaching about the document and covering civics education more thoroughly in schools. Taylor agrees, adding that administrators should offer some sort of teacher training when introducing any curricular materials. In addition, she notes that mandates "can be seen as opportunities as well as obligations."