About



The 2nd Annual We the People National Invitational will be held April 4-8, 2014.
The competition will be conducted on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

  • High school classes qualify to attend the National Invitational by participating in a simulated congressional hearing at the district or state levels during the 2013-14 school year.  
  • Middle school classes qualify to attend the National Invitational by participating in a simulated congressional hearing at the school, district, or state levels during the 2013-14 school year.
The National Invitational takes the form of simulated congressional hearing. During the hearings groups of students testify as constitutional experts before panels of judges acting as congressional committees scoring the groups through a performance based assessment. Each class is divided into six groups based on the six units of the We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution high school and middle textbooks. Each hearing begins with a four minute opening statement by students and is followed by a six minute period of follow-up questioning during which judges probe students' depth of knowledge, understanding and their ability to apply constitutional principles. Classes have the opportunity to compete or showcase at the event. The format provides students an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles while providing the judges with an excellent means of assessing students' knowledge and application to historical and current constitutional issues. 
 
While in Washington, D.C., students will have the opportunity to tour our nation's capital and meet with members of Congress and other important dignitaries.  Travel, lodging, and tour arrangements for classes are made by WorldStrides. The Center for Civic Education organizes all other aspects of the National  Invitational.

Since the inception of the We the People program in 1987, more than 28 million students and 75,000 teachers have participated in the program. Since 1987,  more than 30,000 students and 1,000 teachers have participated the National Finals.