Nearly 600 fifth-grade students across the City School District of Albany are participating in the second year of Legal Lives, a legal education program expanding to all of the district’s fifth-grade classrooms, according to a Sept. 30 announcement from Albany County.
Albany County District Attorney Lee C. Kindlon and the school district announced that 26 social studies classes are taking part. The curriculum introduces students to the criminal justice system while aiming to build their understanding of the law and their critical and analytical thinking skills before middle school.
The announced schedule calls for a 35-week program running through May, with hour-long sessions once a week. Kindlon, assistant district attorneys and district attorney’s office support staff will help lead lessons alongside teachers. Defense attorneys, law enforcement members, court staff, and current and retired local judges will join some sessions.
Students will take on different roles in skits and mock trials to explore the judicial process. Lesson topics include shoplifting, harassment, assault, drug possession, gun violence and domestic violence. The curriculum also examines choices that lead people to commit crimes.
Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter said the program helps build relationships between students and people working in the legal system while supporting critical thinking and real-world learning.
Legal Lives was founded in 1990 by Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes. Former Albany County District Attorney Sol Greenberg established a local version in the early 1990s, but it had become dormant before its return.