Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is normally observed on September 17, to commemorate the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the United States Constitution in Philadelphia. Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students on September 17 (if it falls on a weekend; it should be held in the previous or next week).
As part of ALL IN’s theory of change to support campuses with civic learning, voter participation, and ongoing engagement in our democracy, we’ve worked with participating campuses to curate a list of programs and resources to support the observance of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day annually. ALL IN encourages campuses to document activities and resources as part of the strategy section of an institution’s biennial action plan. For support in creating your campus’s action plan, utilize the content in the ALL IN Action Plan Resource Hub.
Campus Program Examples
While it’s a federal requirement for campuses receiving federal funding to observe Constitution Day, there is no mandate for what qualifies as observance. Therefore, campuses are able to creatively offer programming to support their campus’s needs while expanding their students’ knowledge about the Constitution. To support ALL IN campuses with creating meaningful experiences in conjunction with Constitution Day we’ve curated a list of program examples and campus resources.
