CONCORD – Students from Hollis-Brookline High School, Milford High School and John Stark Regional High School showcased their understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the first round of mock congressional hearings for the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program on Dec. 3.

These hearings are a precursor to the State Finals, which will be held on Jan. 10, 2025. The state champions will then represent New Hampshire at the National Finals in the spring.

Brought to Granite State schools by the New Hampshire Bar Association’s Law Related Education program, We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution is a national program created in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Education as part of an initiative to strengthen civics education. It has been taught in New Hampshire schools for nearly four decades.

“The NHBA has long recognized the importance of bringing civics education into our schools, and We the People is one way of doing just that,” said NHBA Executive Director Sarah Blodgett. “The curriculum is rigorous, but the interactive nature of the program makes it exciting for students and encourages good-natured competition.”

The mock hearings require the students to formulate, analyze and defend positions on six units of constitutional law principles before a panel of volunteer lawyers and judges from around the state, who will score the teams on criteria including understanding, constitutional application, reasoning, supporting evidence, responsiveness and participation.

Last year, students from Hollis-Brookline High School won five of the six unit awards at the district hearings and went on to win the state championship. They represented the Granite State among 47 other schools from across the country at the We the People 2024 National Finals in Leesburg, Va. last April.