[RSCT] From the Bill of Rights Defense Committee to Educators: An Invitation

[S. Kashdan]

From: Emma Roderick, Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 9:56 AM
Subject: [Alert] BORDC Educators: An Invitation


Bill of Rights Defense Committee



Dear supporter,



Last year, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) launched the 
People's Campaign for the Constitution (PCC) in order to help galvanize the 
movement to restore the rule of law and civil liberties. We appreciate your 
support and participation. This spring, after submitting letters to the 
Attorney General on behalf of 4,000 supporters demanding prosecution for 
torture-related crimes by former officials, BORDC launched the PCC's first 
national affinity groups.



They bring together legal professionals in one group, and educators in 
another, concerned about issues including executive secrecy, warrantless 
electronic and physical surveillance, preventive detention, and torture 
accountability. The first activity of the educators' group was a recent 
conference call on which several participants collaboratively defined the 
group's near-term agenda. They set priorities and identified several 
exciting intermediate-term projects, each of which has teams in place to 
coordinate an effort among volunteers. We write to invite your participation 
in those projects.



The projects offer chances to bring civil liberties issues to the forefront 
of education, empowering students, supporting educators, and impacting 
policy. Specifically, the PCC educators' network seeks volunteers to plug in 
on the following projects:



1)  Report on security measures in schools undermining the Constitution: 
Developing a detailed report about how security measures in schools (e.g., 
comprehensive metal detector scanning without suspicion; biometric tracking 
and identification devices; restrictions on student speech; requirements for 
clear book bags) undermine the privacy expectations of students and dull 
their sensitivity to constitutional values.



2)  Curriculum development: Compiling educational materials to demonstrate 
how public policies (e.g., surveillance, detention, torture, secrecy) affect 
and ultimately undermine constitutional rights. The project will (a) review 
currently available materials; and (b) identify potential gaps and compile 
syllabi to fill them, with audiences including K-12 students, as well as 
their teachers.



3)  Forming a teacher peer network: Teachers will be gathering resources to 
assist one another in navigating complicated situations (e.g., how to 
thoughtfully discuss current events in the classroom without bias, 
addressing pressure from administrators, etc) and developing an online 
platform (e.g., a blog, forum, social networking site or wiki) to compile 
and make them available.



These project teams will be coordinating their respective further efforts in 
the next week, and would enthusiastically welcome your participation. For 
more information, or to get involved with one or more of these efforts, 
email me and let me know. We look forward to hearing from you.



In struggle,



Emma Roderick



Grassroots Campaign Coordinator



Bill of Rights Defense Committee



www.constitutioncampaign.org



www.bordc.org



emma at bordc.org



413-582-0110



Bill of Rights Defense Committee



8 Bridge Street, Suite A, Northampton, MA 01060



Web:



www.bordc.org



Email:



info at bordc.org



Telephone: 413-582-0110



Fax: 413-582-0116