MSBA CIVIC EDUCATION COMMITTEE PROGRESS REPORT
Prepared for November 2007 MSBA Assembly

1.     Committee Focus

            The Minnesota State Bar Association Civic Education Committee aims to improve the civic education and engagement of all Minnesotans.  The Civic Education Committee has determined that the best way to achieve this objective is to work with Minnesota schools to ensure young Minnesotans benefit from civic education in and outside of the classroom.  As a new Committee with a broad mandate, the work of the Civic Education Committee is largely defined by the priorities of its members. 

2.     Committee Growth

            In August of 2006, the MSBA formed the Civic Education Committee to determine how it could most effectively complement current civic education programs and activities.  Last year, as a Steering Committee, the dozen-member Civic Education Committee reviewed the state of civic education in Minnesota and considered how to get lawyers and the Bar involved in those efforts.

            This year, the Civic Education Committee has more than tripled in size to 37 members.  Committee members represent a diverse group of attorneys and law students committed to the cause of civic education in Minnesota.  Committee members live and work across the state, in urban, rural, and suburban Minnesota communities, and work in government, private practice, higher education, secondary education, public policy, and public interest practice.  Committee members also include a wide range of ages from law students and new lawyers to retirees.

            To accommodate the growth of the committee and to focus Committee resources on priority areas, four Subcommittees were formed: Programs, Communications, Partnerships, and Policy.  Each Committee Member serves on at least one Subcommittee.

 

3.     Programs Subcommittee

            The Programs Subcommittee is charged with providing programs through which lawyers can get involved in the civic education of Minnesotans.  The Programs Subcommittee is currently carrying out its mission through three initiatives. 

            First, a team is working with schools to get lawyers into classrooms.  On September 17, the Programs Subcommittee sent over a dozen attorneys into 20 Minneapolis public elementary school classrooms to speak about the U.S. Constitution in honor of U.S. Constitution Day.  The Subcommittee created the curriculum and held a teacher training session for volunteers prior to Constitution Day.  In addition, several volunteers spoke to classes in their own communities in the Metro Area and Greater Minnesota.  The Subcommittee received such an overwhelming response from lawyers interested in volunteering that they were not able to accommodate all volunteers and have started a database of lawyers who want to be "on call" for future classroom opportunities.  The Subcommittee is laying the groundwork to send large groups of lawyers to Minnesota classrooms on President’s Day (February) and Law Day (May).

            Second, a team is meeting with representatives of existing programs, including Youth in Government and Kid Voting Minnesota, to determine whether volunteer lawyers could get involved in their work.

            Finally, a team is preparing to launch Operation Arbitration in partnership with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the MSBA.  “Operation Arbitration” is a project in which volunteer lawyers train students to hear and decide real-life disputes among their peers.  Lawyers will serve as coaches for Student Arbitrators.  The project aims to help students learn how to resolve disputes, appreciate the rule of law, and understand how the justice system works.  The program will also let students see lawyers in a positive, problem-solving role as "pro-bono peacemakers."   The Operation Arbitration curriculum will consist of weekly lessons for students which teach (1) core conflict mediation skills, including serving as a mediator and serving as an arbitrator, and (2) civic education lessons, including how the justice system works and how disputes are settled outside of court. 

            The Operation Arbitration Committee consists of five Civic Education Committee members and five ADR Section members, and is working closely with MSBA President Brian Melendez and representatives from the Minneapolis Public Schools to launch a pilot program in a Minneapolis Public High School this spring semester.      

4.     Communications Subcommittee

            The Communications Subcommittee has launched a website titled Minnesota Civic Matters (www.mnciviced.org) which provides resources for lawyers interested in getting involved in the work of the Civic Education Committee, teachers looking for resources and lesson plans for civic education and engagement, and students interested in all facets of civic life and engagement, including future inclusion of interactive on-line games.  The website is the Committee’s primary outreach tool.

            The Communications Subcommittee also worked with MSBA President Brian Melendez on the content of his October Presidents’ Page in Bench & Bar, which focused on the work of the Civic Education Committee in general, and the Operation Arbitration Program in particular.

            A promotional poster was also created to promote the work of the Civic Education Committee to teachers and the Committee sent a representative to the Minnesota Teacher’s Conference (formerly known as MEA) in October.  At the conference, the Committe handed out 500 copies of the Legal Stuff, a brochure created by the Hennepin County Bar Association and printed in partnership with the Civic Education Committee, to teachers.  Legal Stuff is a 64-page book detailing legal issues important to teens.  At the Conference, the Committee also collected information from several teachers interested in having lawyers volunteer in their classrooms.

5.     Partnerships Subcommittee

            The Partnerships Subcommittee is charged with building relationships with existing organizations working on civic education and civic engagement, to determine how the Civic Education Committee can support their work.  Subcommittee members have met with over a dozen representatives from other organizations and will continue to build partnerships throughout the year.  The Subcommittee is also working with the Minnesota Secretary of State and other partners on a Summit Conference on Education for Democracy to be held in summer of 2008.    

            For U.S. Constitution Day, the Subcommittee sent a letter to the Executive Directors of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, and the Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association stressing the importance of Constitution Day and suggesting that each encourage teachers to read and discuss the preamble to the Constitution with their students.

            In September, the Committee sent two representatives to the ABA Law Related Education Conference in New Orleans where they met with civic education leaders from across the country and learned about the best practices of existing programs. 

6.     Policy Subcommittee

            The Policy Subcommittee is reviewing state and national educational policy issues and determining whether to recommend that the MSBA take policy positions on education. 

7.     Conclusion

            The Civic Education Committee has gained tremendous momentum in the past year, demonstrating the importance of our work to MSBA members and the greater Minnesota community.  We appreciate the opportunity to share our progress with the MSBA Assembly and are grateful for your continued support of our efforts.  Thank you.

Respectfully submitted,

Eldon Kaul and Nena Street, Civic Education Committee Co-Chairs
Mary Pat Byrn, Programs Subcommittee Chair
Ben Weeks, Communications Subcommittee Chair
Jim Gunn, Policy Subcommittee Chair

And committee members:
Patricia Beithon
Ryan Briese
Robert Brown
M. Susan Burns
Tricia Connolly
Nicholas Dranias
Margaret Erickson
Kevin Finnerty
Kim Fuhrman
Lorie Gildea
Gary Hansen
Amy Hertel
Kim Holst
Lyndsey Kimber
Leah Klimoski
Brian Larson
Anne Marie Marcotte
Brenda Miller
David Moody
Jim Moore
Dan Prokott
David Schultz
Aaron Street
Jason Tarasek
B.C. Thompson
Pat Trask
Phillip Trobaugh
David Walker
Elizabeth Wefel
Alan Weinblatt
Kristi Wendorff