Much like the "digital divide," the ID Divide is an easily overlooked but vital reality that affects many in our country. Over 20 million adult citizens lack government-issued photo ID, while victims of identity theft and those put on watch lists also fall on the wrong side of the divide. Several identification issues are addressed in a major new report by the Center for American Progress' Cassandra Butts and Peter Swire entitled, "The ID Divide: Addressing Problems of Identification and Authentication in American Society." The report stems from the Progressive Identity Project, which included experts in the areas affected by identification issues. Please join the Center for American Progress for a special event to discuss the report and its implications.

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was intended to provide additional spending for states and school districts to meet the needs of low-income children. But the intent hasn’t always been met. A comparability provision—intended to ensure that federal funds are added to an already-level playing field of state and local funding for schools—has been ineffective and enforced inconsistently. Join us for a conference that will explore these issues and focus on ways to improve comparability requirements to ensure equitable spending practices within school districts. We will also consider how these changes can be enforced and implemented, and what technical assistance is needed to spur fairer spending practices that result in improvements in instruction for students in high-poverty schools.

Science and technology underpin the success of American progressivism and American progress. Innovation and information technology are the strongest drivers of economic growth. Advances in medical research help us live longer and healthier lives. Expanding existing technologies and forging ahead with renewable energy solutions will lead us to a low-carbon economy. Breakthroughs in nearly every field of science and engineering contribute to our national security. Science creates a safer and more equitable future for everyone.

In October, the Center for American Progress launched Science Progress, a web magazine about science and technology policy that supports the common good. Join us as we expand our reach with the release of our first print edition. Experts from the academic and policy worlds will discuss the future of U.S. leadership in renewable energy, genetic medicine, and basic research. This won’t be your ordinary event—we’ll begin with a “science fair” where guests and panelists can talk candidly about the state of these timely issues.

The media has begun focusing of late on the appeal of various candiates to white, working-class voters. But how deep does this newfound interest in these workers go? A unique new quantitative study by the Center for American Progress finds that the media ignores ordinary workers and instead covers economic issues from the perspective of business. "Journalists Give Workers the Business" raises serious questions about whether the media is fairly covering economic issues, living up to its own standards, and properly serving democracy.

A panel of experienced economic journalists, a labor leader, and the study's author will discuss how the media cover the economy and whether anything could change during this election cycle. It will examine why coverage has been skewed and the impact of this portrayal of our economy as a world without workers.

Copies of State of the Unions will be available for purchase at the event.

When is religious engagement in public policy a healthy aspect of democracy and when does it threaten the separation of church and state? Is there too much "God talk" in the public square? How should we incorporate diverse religious identities into our common civic life?

Contrasting views about the role of religion in American democracy have been heating up in recent years. Shedding light on the debate is a new collection of essays, Debating the Divine: Religion in 21st Century American Democracy. Its authors—leading thinkers and scholars—offer provocative, thoughtful views on the role of faith in public life within a diverse society. They tackle honest disagreements and find common ground.

Please join several of the book's authors for a lively discussion of religion in our democracy, moderated by E.J. Dionne.

Percy Shelley said that poetry, also known as critical reflections upon popular culture, was a touchstone and an influencing agent for understanding and advocating for current issues. E. Ethelbert Miller, David Gewanter, and Naomi Ayala have each written poems in this spirit. It is a gender- and culturally diverse voice that will sound out to the audience messages of progressive change at the level both of policy but more importantly of worldview.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion on the influence of poetry on the progressive movement.

Copies of Wild Animals on the Moon, Sleep of Reason, and How We Sleep on the Nights We Don't Make Love will be available for purchase.

"REBORN" chronicles the first official year of public school in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The centerpiece is the charter school movement's effort to radically transform education for the city's mostly African-American public school children, many of whom would still be attending some of the worst-performing schools in the nation. In post-Katrina New Orleans, principals and teachers are now readjusting to a wholly new educational model; likewise, families and communities are responding to the new responsibilities that come with finding their voices in the ways their children are educated.

During this crucial period, one question remains: How will stakeholders use their newfound power? Shot between July 2006 and June 2007, "REBORN" tracks the hopes and challenges of four public charter schools in New Orleans.