Despite summer vacation on their minds, more than 150 Ohio middle school students will compete in the Ohio Middle School We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution State Showcase today at Columbus State Community College.

The following schools will participate:

• Columbiana South Side Middle School (Columbiana County)
• Columbus East High School (Franklin County)
• Gahanna Middle School South (Franklin County)
• Middleburg Heights Junior High School (Cuyahoga County)
• Sycamore Junior High School (Hamilton County)
• Trotwood-Madison Middle School (Montgomery County)

For We the People, a program of the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education, students participate in simulated congressional hearings. They showcase their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles by evaluating, presenting, and defending positions on historical and contemporary issues. After providing a prepared answer to the competition questions, students answer follow-up questions from judges including college professors, judges, attorneys, and other community leaders.

Among the questions students will tackle: How does the right to due process of law protect an individual’s right to life, liberty, and property? What are the characteristics that a constitution or higher law should have and why are these characteristics essential to the protection of our natural rights?

Middleburg Heights teacher Robin Lashley, Trotwood-Madison teacher Jessica Parker, and Columbus East teacher Jordan Masterson, were participants in the 2016-17 James Madison Legacy Project, a federally funded grant program that supports teacher training in the content and implementation of the We the People curriculum.