Educational Outreach

Courts to Classes Programs

The Judiciary's outreach programs connect courts to their communities throughout the country. Educational initiatives bring teachers, students, parents, lawyers, community leaders, and the media into the courts to experience the justice system.

• Standards of Law-Related Education (LRE) Best Practices
  Our Courts to Classes programs meet the six accepted standards of LRE best practices. They: 1) Focus on essential knowledge and skills; 2) stimulate analysis and opinion; 3) provide hands-on interaction among students, teachers, and professionals; 4) incorporate the use of professionals as prepared resources; 5) involve teachers and administrators; and 6) provide a network for teachers' professional development.
  
  
• Create Real-Life Learning Situations at Courthouses
  National outreach initiatives organized at local federal courts include an annual Open Doors to Federal Courts event and Teachers Institutes. The theme of this year's annual Open Doors to Federal Courts is Partners in Justice: An Independent Judiciary and a Fair-Minded Jury.
  
  More than 6,000 middle school and high school teachers across the nation benefit from the federal courts' educational outreach each year. The programs center on true-to-life role playing related to jury service, judicial independence, and the Bill of Rights. Local court information is available from the clerk of U.S. District Court.