The New Jersey State Bar Foundation (NJSBF) is the philanthropic arm of the New Jersey State Bar Association whose mission is to provide law-related education for the public and schools. NJSBF is committed to the principle that public understanding of our legal system is essential in preserving the liberties that are fundamental in our democracy.
The foundation offers free, comprehensive public education programming. Among its many public and school-based activities, it presents law-related seminars, conducts conflict resolution and anti-bias trainings for educators, publishes law-related materials, operates a speakers’ bureau, and coordinates elementary, middle and high school mock trial competitions.
With a focus on civics education, the foundation publishes a legal newspaper for kids, The Legal Eagle and Respect, a diversity newsletter, three times a year. Free subscriptions may be obtained by visiting njsbf.org. Digital subscriptions are also available. In addition, NJSBF has a stable of civics newsletters, covering the U.S. Constitution from the First Amendment to
the 27th.
The Bill of Rights Up Close, a 28-page newsletter, takes a deep dive into the Bill of Rights with 13 articles, including four on the First Amendment alone. Covering all the bases, Beyond the Bill of Rights, a 24-page newsletter, focuses on the 17 Amendments added to the U.S. Constitution after the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791. Free print copies may be ordered at njsbf.org. Downloadable PDFs of the newsletters can be found on the site’s publication page, or individual articles from both newsletters are also available on The Informed Citizen blog.
In addition to these publications, NJSBF publishes The Informed Citizen, a civics blog that has tackled such topics as democratic norms, the meaning of equal justice under the law and the rule of law, to name but a few. The articles published on the blog also contain discussion questions and glossary words.
To learn more about the many educational offerings from the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, visit njsbf.org.