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The Education Initiative
Objectives
The rights guaranteed by the First Amendment — to speak out; to publish pamphlets and web sites; to peaceably assemble and protest; to petition the government — are indispensable tools for activists in the public interest community and artists whose works address social justice issues.
FAP facilitates the democratic process by providing educational resources on these fundamental constitutional rights to our colleagues in nonprofit advocacy and arts organizations. In this way, we support the effectiveness of the greater public interest community.
The goal of the Education Initiative is to ensure, through education, that activists and artists exercise their First Amendment rights to better promote their causes and protect themselves from those who endeavor to silence their voices.
Issues
Currently, the subject of the First Amendment rights of the Internet and World Wide Web activist requires special attention. The Internet has dramatically increased the ability of activists to disseminate advocacy materials and reach large audiences. At the same time, however, it has increased advocates' exposure to challenges to their freedom of expression, the legal frontier of which is still being explored. By educating these on-line advocates about their civil liberties, FAP can embolden them to continue their work in the face of legal bullying and help them design their materials and activities to withstand harassing legal challenges.
Other issues that are currently in need of educational efforts include SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) defense, art censorship, minors' free expression rights and access to public records.
Strategies
In fulfilling the goals of the Education Initiative, FAP conducts the following activities:
Seminars: FAP conducts free seminars and educational programs and coordinate panel discussions on timely issues for the nonprofit advocacy and arts communities, and the general public.
Written and Web Based Materials: FAP produces and distributes brief, easy to read and understand educational guides on Court Access, The Brown Act, The California Public Records Act and The California Shield Law. We have just begun preparation of our Web Activist's First Amendment Guide. We disseminate as much of this material as possible via our web site.
Pocket Guide to Access to Courts and Court Records (PDF file)
Pocket Guide to The Brown Act (PDF file)
Pocket Guide to The California Public Records Act (PDF file)
Pocket Guide to Protecting Unpublished and Confidential Sources(PDFfile)Course Curricula: The First Amendment Project is developing course curricula on timely First Amendment issues. We are currently developing a freedom of artistic expression curriculum for art students.
Free Expression Network-West: The First Amendment Project convenes regular meetings of the Free Expression Network-West, a coalition of diverse organizations promoting freedom of expression. This coalition provides another forum for educational programs, panel discussions and seminars that focus on timely issues, provide all participants with tools to help them become more effective advocates, and promotes collaboration and resource sharing among participants.