About BRI
The Bill of Rights Institute is a civic education organization with a network of over 50,000 history and civics educators, thousands of classroom-ready history and civics resources and annual student and teacher programming.
The Bill of Rights Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in September 1999 to engage, educate, and empower individuals with a passion for the freedom and opportunity that exist in a free society.
The Institute develops educational resources on American history and government, provides professional development opportunities to teachers, and runs student programs and scholarship contests. The Institute's depth of knowledge is drawn from a full-time staff with more than 100 years of combined classroom experience, as well as from partners who are experts in their fields.
Since its founding, the Institute has published over 4000 resources, including hundreds of YouTube videos and current events lessons for middle and high school classrooms. All of its resources are designed to drive students to the United States Constitution and Founding documents as the foundation of their analysis of American history and current events.
The Institute also offers several student programs and scholarship contests. During the week-long Constitutional Academy program held each summer, students work with scholars, academics, and leaders in history, government, and economics to learn more about how to examine issues based on constitutional principles. The Institute also holds yearly scholarship contests including the “We the Students” essay contest which awards $20,000 in scholarship funds to fourteen 8th-12th grade U.S. students.
From its founding to today, the Institute has remained steadfast in its mission of educating young people about the Constitutional principles which support civic life in America. With the generous support of individual, corporate, and foundation donors, the Institute has made significant progress in strengthening civic knowledge and values for the next generation of citizens. Through its programs and curricula, the Institute has provided a better understanding of the Constitution and Bill of Rights to more than 5 million students and over 50,000 teachers. Additionally, the Institute has directly trained over 25,000 teachers through its constitutional seminars.
Read more about Our Mission & Values
For Educators
The Bill of Rights Institute is honored to work with our educators across the nation. We collaborate closely with teachers regarding all materials and features.
For Students
To inform and empower the next generation, we offer online forums, essay contests, and programs for student participants.
For Supporters
The Bill of Rights Institute could not provide its services and resources without the generous assistance of our supporters
About BRI
Student Spotlight
Daniel Paviglianiti
Daniel is currently a senior at Fox Chapel Area High School in Pittsburgh. In addition to his academic pursuits, he is an active member of his school’s FBLA team, crew team, forensics club, chess club, and orchestra...
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