https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3bzbqBIz-
Constitutional Law, often referred to as “Con Law” by students, is a class where students work together to compete in the We the People Competition, an annual competition where students participate in mock congressional hearings. East High School has competed since the program’s founding in 1987 as part of the Bicentennial Celebration of the Constitution. In Con Law, students are first placed on one of 6 panels (or units of the We The People Curriculum), each consisting of 4-6 people. All panels are then given three sets of questions, where students study each one carefully, create short opening statements responding to the questions, and gather as much evidence as possible, learning their nuances to adequately respond to follow-up questions. In their first semester, students prepare for the state competition held in December. If East wins the state competition, they will spend the second semester preparing for the national competition held in April. East has won the state competition for eleven years in a row and has won the national competition five times since the start of the program. In 2025, the competition miscalculated the final results, placing East originally at 4th, but East placed 2nd by one point nationally out of 48 teams from across the country that competed.
Con law offers students the opportunity to challenge themselves with college-level coursework as part of the AP US Government curriculum and also through the We the People Competition itself. This class provides its students with a multitude of skills, such as writing, collaboration, and public speaking. Con Law also gives students a deep, sophisticated understanding of American government at a time when civic knowledge has declined significantly. Overall, Con Law is a one-of-a-kind experience that all students overwhelmingly look back upon fondly. If you or your student is interested in taking the class, talk to your counselor about joining the Con Law AP Government section.
If you are an alumni of East’s Constitutional Law program, you can join the alumni network via this link. (Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWV10eQk8zHHwpogzFg9tFDQQNugkovfcdo_Uyh4Ztw5zUDQ/viewform?usp=dialog)
Mandy Hostetter is the current teacher for the Con Law Program. For questions or comments, she can be reached at Mandy_Hostetter@dpsk12.net