Eric Waldo, the U.S. Education Department’s deputy chief of staff for policies and programs, will give remarks at Southern Vermont University’s Constitution Day celebration tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 19, at 2:30 p.m. in Bennington, Vt. In his address to some 75 students, faculty and administrators, Waldo will discuss education as the civil rights issue of the 21st century, as well as citizenship and democratic engagement, and the value of civics education for students at every grade level. He will also discuss the Administration’s higher education initiatives.
Constitution Day is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. It is observed on September 17, the day the Constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.
The law establishing the present holiday, created in 2004, mandates that schools receiving federal funds of any kind provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution.