Constitution Day
Constitution Day
Sept. 17, 2026
2026 Theme: Road to the Constitution
Exercise the First Amendment and claim your civic rights
The Journalism Education Association hopes to help scholastic journalism students exercise the First Amendment and claim their civic rights. Constitution Day, observed Sept. 17 each year in commemoration of the signing of the United States Constitution, is an excellent time to do it.
There are many ways to celebrate and learn about Constitution Day and the First Amendment. Below are lesson plans and activities curated by JEA's Scholastic Press Rights Committee to help students learn how to exercise their First Amendment rights. These materials could be the focus of Constitution Day activities or be used any time throughout the year.
Constitution Day is also a great time to review student press rights particular to your community. How aware are your students of their own editorial policy? School board policy? Guidelines for ethical performance and meaningful, all-encompassing staff manual? How about the existence (or lack thereof) of a New Voices law? Are there ways your students could strengthen or improve their specific protections? You can always check out additional resources on JEA.org or through the Student Press Law Center.
Constitution Day classroom materials
This year’s theme, Road to the Constitution, highlights the years between the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the first signing of the Constitution in 1787, leading up to Constitution Day on Sept. 17, 2026.
The JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee has put together a set of free classroom materials, including lesson plans and other resources, centered around this year's theme for teachers to use in their classrooms on Constitution Day and beyond.
Building healthy relationships between scholastic press and administration(opens in new tab)
This resource packet provides information, tips, examples and inspiration for teachers and student journalists looking to build healthy relationships with school administration.
by Kristin Taylor, MJE
Paving the road ahead(opens in new tab)
This lesson plan is designed to accompany the award-winning documentary The Future is Ours: Gen Z Journalists Speak Out from the Journalistic Learning Initiative, examining how youth voices, civic participation and press freedom shape the evolving “road” to the Constitution.
by Morgan Bricker, MJE
The road to a policy statement(opens in new tab)
What kind of road must high school media programs follow to get the maximum freedom and thus the best experience for both the students on staff and others who will be reading their content? It takes a solid policy statement. And, just like building a road, building a policy statement takes time and planning.
This lesson plan and accompanying materials provide steps to help your school's media program come up with a policy statement that protects student voices and assures administrators you’re doing so legally and ethically.
by Candace Bowen, MJE, and John Bowen, MJE
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Are news influencers journalists?(opens in new tab)
What makes someone a journalist? This lesson plan guides students through exploring this question as it relates to traditional media vs. news influencers and content creators.
by Andrea Negri, MJE
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Event header photo by Chris Waugaman. Photo of students at the Minneapolis JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in April 2026.