Law, Youth & Citizenship Program
Educational Programs
A partnership between the New York State Bar Association and the New York State Education Department, the Law, Youth and Citizenship (LYC) Program was established in 1974 to promote law-related education in New York’s public and private schools.
The LYC Program assists educators in preparing students, prekindergarten through 12th grade, for their active, engaged roles as citizens who have the knowledge, skills, and the civic attitudes fundamental to a healthy democracy. The goal of the LYC Program is to provide programs, training, and materials that enhance student understanding of the law, our constitutional form of government, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
LYC programs promote the development of essential "life skills" and
support many state educational standards across the curriculum. 
Law, Youth & Citizenship
- Provides a variety of law-related education professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers;
- Develops and distributes high quality materials on a wide range of law-related education topics;
- Provides opportunities for students to interact with members of the legal profession;
- Administers statewide educational programs;
- Exposes students to new and challenging experiences in the community.
Professional Development
Since 1974, thousands of elementary and secondary teachers have been instructed in law-related content and methodology through numerous professional development conferences, workshops and summer institutes sponsored by LYC.
- Statewide Conference:
The Law, Youth and Citizenship Program sponsors an annual statewide conference on law-related/civic education each fall. Hundreds of elementary and secondary teachers, administrators, attorneys, criminal justice and law enforcement personnel and university educators attend this premier professional development opportunity each year.
The goal of the conference is to provide stimulating and innovative sessions in law-related/ civic education for participants new to the field as well as those with broad experience. Experts in law-related/ civic education from New York State and around the nation conduct conference sessions.
Participants are provided with up-to-date and relevant information as well as original materials and instructional strategies they can use on a daily basis. Certificates of attendance are issued for the purpose of attaining district in-service credit.
A small number of scholarships are available each year to allow new teachers and first-time attendees to participate in the conference.
Registration materials as well as on-line registration are available at www.lycny.org.
- Summer Institutes:
Through grants from The New York Bar Foundation and the Center for Civic Education, LYC, in partnership with local educators, is able to offer summer institutes that are held in a variety of locations around the state.
These institutes provide comprehensive and intensive law-related/ civic education for teachers. Institutes showcase proven law-related/civic education programs and include strong content and pedagogy strands as well as field experiences. They all provide a strong focus on meeting state standards.
Institutes are multi-day and often are free-of-charge. Registration materials are available at www.lycny.org.
- School Law Conferences:
School law conferences for attorneys, school board members, superintendents, principals and pupil personnel administrators are a result of a collaboration between LYC and the New York State School Boards Association.
The goal of the conferences is to inform participants about key legal decisions, revised federal regulations and new laws affecting school district operations. Conferences are held in several locations throughout the state and are led by experts in the field.
For more information visit the NYSSBA website at www.nyssba.org.
Resources/Publications
LYC offers publications on a wide variety of topics. Many publications are available including:
- U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: A Case Study Review for U.S. History and Government
- Teaching Strategies for U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: Teaching Strategies, Thematic Essays, and Document Based Questions
- Stories Old & New: International Human Rights Law
- Teacher’s Guide: Stories Old & New: International Human Rights Law
- A Salute to the Flag
- Living Together Under the Law: An Elementary Education Law Guide (Revised 2003)
- The Noblest Institution: A Guide to the Jury for Young People
A price list and order forms are available on-line at www.lycny.org or by calling (518) 473-4235.
LYC Website
Resources and current program information can be found at www.lycny.org. Announcements for professional development opportunities, and professional development registration forms, as well as a number of law-related links, are available. View current and past mock trial cases. Several LYC publications can be downloaded from the site. Check the website at www.lycny.org often for the newest material for classroom use.
- Law Studies:
Each issue of Law Studies revolves around a current law-related theme. Educators, lawyers, and other law-related specialists with experience in substantive law or education write feature articles. Lesson plans and teaching activities accompany each article for ease of use in the classroom.
Law Studies is available at no charge to educators and law-related professionals within the state and can also be downloaded from the LYC website. If you have contributions that you would like us to consider for Law Studies, please contact the LYC office at lyc@nysba.org or (518) 473-4235.
Outreach
- Distinguished Service Awards for Attorneys and Educators
Each year, The Distinguished Service Award is presented to the outstanding attorney who has contributed the most to law-related education in the past year. The Emil Zullo award is presented to the educator that has demonstrated excellence in law-related education in the past year. Award criteria and applications are available at www.lycny.org or by contacting the LYC Program.
- Lawyer in the Classroom
The Lawyer in the Classroom program was established in 1976 to provide students with an opportunity to interact with volunteer attorneys in a structured setting. Attorneys work in consultation with teachers to choose topics and teaching strategies that best suit a class. LYC provides free resources for use during classroom visits.
Mock Trial Tournament
In this educational program co-sponsored by The New York Bar Foundation, high school students have the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of civil/criminal law and courtroom procedures. Thousands of students participate each year.
Objectives of the tournament are:
- To further student’s understanding of the law, court procedures and the legal system;
- To improve proficiency in basic life skills, such as listening, speaking, reading and reasoning;
- To promote better communication and cooperation among the school community, teachers and students and members of the legal profession;
- To heighten appreciation for academic studies and stimulate interest in law-related careers.
Registration materials, as well as Mock Trial case materials, are available at www.lycny.org.
We the People Programs
- We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
This program is an innovative course of instruction on the history and principles of constitutional democracy in the United States. The program, funded by an act of Congress and sponsored nationally by the Center for Civic Education, is sponsored locally by the Law, Youth and Citizenship Program of the New York State Bar Association, which offers free training and textbooks for grades four through twelve.
A statewide network of Congressional District Coordinators administers the program locally. The two main components of the program are the textbooks and a culminating activity, the simulated congressional hearing, which can be done competitively or non-competitively. In addition to regular inservice training, an intensive weeklong summer institute is held each year.
For more information, visit www.lycny.org or www.civiced.org.
- We the People: Project Citizen
We the People: Project Citizen is a curricular program for students and youth groups that promotes competent and responsible participation in local and state government. The program is sponsored nationally by the Center for Civic Education and is sponsored locally by the Law, Youth and Citizenship Program of the New York State Bar Association.
Free training and textbooks are provided through a network of coordinators.
The three main components of this program are the Project Citizen text, the portfolio, and the simulated legislative hearing.
- Level One is elementary/middle school appropriate;
- Level Two, available September 2006, is geared for high school and college.
- In addition to regular in-service training, an intensive weeklong institute is held each year. For more information, visit www.lycny.org or www.civiced.org.
LYC Professional Staff
Eileen Devine Gerrish
was appointed Director of the Law, Youth and Citizenship Program in January
2006. Gerrish has had a long career in education, serving several terms
as a school board member, and working as an administrator and teacher.
She has been involved in education at all levels for three decades, from
preschool teaching to college administration. She recently spent eight
years as a high school Social Studies and English teacher for the Saranac
Lake (N.Y.) Central School District.
As a college administrator, she earned state and national awards for her work in college development. She has written successful grants for both high school and college-level programs.
Prior to her career in education, she was Assistant Editor/Acting Editor of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise newspaper. Gerrish has experience in multimedia classroom methods, and is a trained Cooperative Learning teacher.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, holds a master’s degree in Administration and Leadership and recently completed a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Leadership.
Rebecca Varno earned
her BA in History from Chatham College (Pittsburgh, PA), and received
her master’s degree from New York University. Rebecca brings her knowledge
of, and experience local, state and federal government to the LYC Program
from her work in the not for profit and membership circles.
As the LYC Program Manager, Rebecca’s primary responsibility is the annual Mock Trial Tournament. She acts as the liaison between the Mock Trial Subcommittee and the staff of LYC to facilitate the writing and researching of a new case each year. She works with the County Coordinators throughout the state to distribute the case materials, answer questions, recruit new school enrollment, and plans the state Tournament Finals.
She also maintains the LYC website, coordinates the Law Studies Journal, and works on various other programs and projects for the LYC Program.
Debra Taylor is
with the Law, Youth & Citizenship Program as Program Assistant for We
The People: The Citizen & The Constitution & Project Citizen. She oversees
the congressional district coordinators across the state. Her focus is
the specific details relating to these programs, including the New York
State and National Competition Finals and the Summer Institutes.
She also serves as assistant to the LYC Director and can be contacted for any information regarding accounting, database management, workshops, meetings or events.
Debra has an AAS in Early Childhood Education and a BS in Criminal Justice & Social Theory, in addition to being an experienced event coordinator and a longtime member of the Empire State Society of Association Executives.
George
M. Gregory, until his retirement in 2003, was the supervisor
of social studies at the New York State Education Department. His responsibilities
included developing social studies curriculum documents and State assessments
linked to the learning standards for social studies. Dr. Gregory currently
serves as a consultant to the LYC Program, the NYS Consortium for Civic
Learning, and the New York Financial Literacy Coalition.
Judianne M. Drebitko, until her retirement in 2002, was a classroom teacher and supervisor at Lansingburgh High School in Troy, New York. She taught all ability levels ranging from Academic Intervention Services to Advanced Placement courses in both United States history and global history. She currently serves as a consultant for the State Education Department in Assessment and as a district coordinator for the "We the People" program.
Linda R. Harrison, until her retirement in 2005, was a classroom teacher at Shaker High School in Latham, New York. She taught all ability levels ranging from Academic Intervention Services to Advanced Placement courses in both United States history and global history. She currently serves as a consultant for the State Education Department in Assessment and as a member of the board of education for the North Colonie Central school district.