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Civic Education

2026 Outreach Program

The Supreme Court and My Hometown (Fall of 2026)

The Western District of New York is excited to partner with the Supreme Court Historical Society and the Robert H. Jackson Center to host The Supreme Court and My Hometown Program ("Hometowns Program") in the fall of 2026. 

The Hometowns Program is an immersive, in-person program that unites the court, bar, and community to foster civic education in 10th through 12th grade high school students.  For more information about the Hometowns Program, please visit the Supreme Court Historical Society’s website.  

                                

The District’s 2026 Hometowns Program will focus on Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, a Western New York native, and his seminal First Amendment opinion in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette.  To be eligible to participate, high school students must be current or rising 10th, 11th, or 12th graders and reside in Rochester, Buffalo, or the surrounding communities.

Additional details about the District’s Hometowns Program and application requirements are available on the Supreme Court Historical Society’s website.  Students interested in participating must apply by no later than April 24, 2026.

 

Volunteer

Anyone interested in becoming involved in the Hometowns Program or other future outreach programs should email the Court at civics@nywd.uscourts.gov

 

Past Outreach Programs

125th Anniversary Civic Outreach Program

During January and February of 2025, the Western District of New York’s 125th Anniversary Civic Outreach Program brought more than 100 volunteer attorneys into 18 public and charter high schools throughout the District to teach a curriculum centered on West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943), an opinion authored by Justice Robert H. Jackson, a native of the District.  More than 1,000 students participated in the Outreach Program.  

Students who participated in the Outreach Program were eligible to compete in the Court’s 125th Anniversary Essay Contest, which asked students to apply Barnette and its analysis of the First Amendment protection against compelled speech to school policies.  The Outreach Program culminated on April 9, 2025, at the Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse, where the Essay Contest finalists participated in the 125th Anniversary Mock Argument Competition.  Participants argued the positions they took in their essays and addressed questions from a three-judge panel comprised of Chief District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford, District Judge Meredith A. Vacca, and Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen.

Classroom Materials

125th Anniversary Essay Contest

125th Anniversary Mock Argument Competition

 

Educational Resources