Trial Lawyers Section Teachers’ Law Symposium aims to strengthen civics education in Florida
In an era where civic knowledge is on the decline, initiatives aimed at strengthening citizens’ understanding of government and law have never been more crucial.
Recent surveys reveal troubling gaps in Americans’ basic civic knowledge, with many unable to name fundamental rights or understand the branches of government. To address this, The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section is leading efforts to improve civic engagement through its annual Teachers’ Law Symposium, a resource for Florida educators tasked with preparing the next generation to be informed and active citizens.
The Annenberg Center for Public Policy’s 2024 survey of Americans’ civic knowledge found most people cannot name their First Amendment rights and the branches of government. And in Florida, preliminary results of a 2024 survey by the Florida State University Institute for Governance and Civics found less than 50% of approximately 1,000 people asked were able to correctly answer five basic U.S. civics questions.
The Trial Lawyers Section’s Teachers’ Law Symposium is held each January for middle and high school teachers.
Geddes Dowling Anderson, Jr.: ‘The program provides the teachers with additional resources and tools needed to educate, encourage, and inspire the next generation of students about the functioning and importance of our civil justice system.’
“The program provides the teachers with additional resources and tools needed to educate, encourage, and inspire the next generation of students about the functioning and importance of our civil justice system,” said section Chair Geddes Dowling Anderson, Jr., of Jacksonville.
This year’s 13th annual symposium, set for January 25 at the Orlando World Center Marriott, is expected to welcome more than 100 attendees from more than 25 Florida counties.
This program is designed with the purpose of providing attendees, through a variety of presentations and workshops, the tools necessary to assist students to better understand and appreciate the value of the U.S. legal system and the important roles that the system plays in their lives at home and at work.
“We feel it is important for America’s future leaders to learn about the legal rights and responsibilities each citizen has as a result of the work of our Founding Fathers and those who followed in their footsteps,” according to a description of the program on the Trial Lawyers Section website.
The program’s purpose is not only to provide teachers with additional information to use in their classrooms, but also to thank them for the tireless efforts they provide on behalf of Florida’s students.
High school and middle school social studies, civics, government, history, and law-related teachers will attend presentations from some of the state’s most highly respected judges, lawyers, and legislators addressing topics such as: the First Amendment as it relates to schools; the roles of the Supreme Court, lawyers, state and federal court systems; and the function and format of criminal trials.
Of note for this year’s symposium is the upcoming 2026 implementation of SB 1264, signed into law in 2024, that requires instruction in public schools on the history of communism.
A full day of sessions is planned, with registration opening at 5 p.m. on January 24 and a pre-symposium teachers’ reception to be held that evening beginning at 6:30 p.m. A complimentary room for the night of January 24 may be available to teachers attending the symposium upon request.
The event coincides with the Trial Lawyers Section’s Annual Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition, which runs January 24-26, for mock trial teams from Florida’s accredited law schools. Each school is invited to send two teams to the competition, which is held over three days and culminates with the final round presided over by federal or state court judges.
For more information about the 2025 Teachers Law Symposium, contact the section administrator Claire Moschel at [email protected].
