Youth Legislature - Seattle Academy
Source: http://www.seattleacademy.org/academics/student-academic-teams/youth-legislature
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:27
Youth Legislature - Seattle Academy
The Hub
Youth Legislature
Youth Legislature in Washington is designed to meet the extracurricular interests of students who would like the opportunity to participate in politics and public speaking. The main goal of Youth Legislature is to help students develop their abilities in the types of leadership, critical thinking skills, and public speaking that will help them to become active participants in our modern democratic society.
Students debate issues, sometimes meet with municipal and state elected officials, draft legislation, conduct hearings using parliamentary procedure, and learn to speak publicly and persuasively. In addition to the main roles of Senators and Representatives, students may also choose roles as lobbyists, who may speak on behalf of bills, or reporters, who will work on the newspaper published daily during the state session.
The Youth Legislature year begins in mid-October as students meet, form the delegation, and begin to discuss ideas for bills. In November and December and students continue to draft and refine their ideas for bills. There is a day-long district event in January at which kids learn about what is required for the various roles within the program and learn how to debate bills using parliamentary procedure. A second day-long district event in February offers many students their first opportunity to stand up in front of a large group and argue for their bills. By the end of February, all bills will have been completed, lobbyists will have written position papers, and reporters will have written their news articles as all students prepare for the year’s main event in Olympia. In May, the YMCA Youth Legislature convenes at the state capital in Olympia. For four days students will play a role they have chosen, serving as Senator, Representative, Lobbyist, Reporter, in the halls of the state legislature.
meet the youth legislation faculty
league and competitions
Tweets by saas_yag
In addition to the district and state events (usually a Saturday in early January, a Saturday in early February, and Wednesday through Saturday early in May) the SAAS delegation meets once a week during lunch from October through April.
Accomplishments
SAAS Youth Leg students elected to the top five statewide offices:
Rahni Singh '23 - Speaker of the House
Charlotte Jennings '22 - Lieutenant Governor
Ben Gode '18 - Speaker of the House
Jade Chowning '15 - Governor
Julia Delaney '15 - Secretary of State
Jackson Gode '14 - Secretary of State
Nithya Menon '12 - Secretary of State
Claire Hoover '11 - Secretary of State
Ben Rubinfeld '03 - Governor
Is Youth Legislature a class?
How many kids can participate in Youth Legislature?
How much time does it take to prepare for the competition?
No, Youth Leg is an extracurricular club that meets once a week during lunch.
We typically have 15 to 20 kids.
It typically requires four to five hours preparation for each event. Total preparation time depends on how many events you engage with.
Post RSS Feeds
Subscribe to Post Alerts
SAAS Youth Legislature Delegation 2020-21
June
7
,
2021
Gode '14 Published in The Brookings Institution Blog
September
5
,
2019
Seattle Academy Youth Legislature visits the State Capitol
May
21
,
2019
Seattle Academy Well Represented at Youth Legislature
May
15
,
2018
The Hub
Youth Legislature
Youth Legislature in Washington is designed to meet the extracurricular interests of students who would like the opportunity to participate in politics and public speaking. The main goal of Youth Legislature is to help students develop their abilities in the types of leadership, critical thinking skills, and public speaking that will help them to become active participants in our modern democratic society.
Students debate issues, sometimes meet with municipal and state elected officials, draft legislation, conduct hearings using parliamentary procedure, and learn to speak publicly and persuasively. In addition to the main roles of Senators and Representatives, students may also choose roles as lobbyists, who may speak on behalf of bills, or reporters, who will work on the newspaper published daily during the state session.
The Youth Legislature year begins in mid-October as students meet, form the delegation, and begin to discuss ideas for bills. In November and December and students continue to draft and refine their ideas for bills. There is a day-long district event in January at which kids learn about what is required for the various roles within the program and learn how to debate bills using parliamentary procedure. A second day-long district event in February offers many students their first opportunity to stand up in front of a large group and argue for their bills. By the end of February, all bills will have been completed, lobbyists will have written position papers, and reporters will have written their news articles as all students prepare for the year’s main event in Olympia. In May, the YMCA Youth Legislature convenes at the state capital in Olympia. For four days students will play a role they have chosen, serving as Senator, Representative, Lobbyist, Reporter, in the halls of the state legislature.
meet the youth legislation faculty
league and competitions
Tweets by saas_yag
In addition to the district and state events (usually a Saturday in early January, a Saturday in early February, and Wednesday through Saturday early in May) the SAAS delegation meets once a week during lunch from October through April.
Accomplishments
SAAS Youth Leg students elected to the top five statewide offices:
Rahni Singh '23 - Speaker of the House
Charlotte Jennings '22 - Lieutenant Governor
Ben Gode '18 - Speaker of the House
Jade Chowning '15 - Governor
Julia Delaney '15 - Secretary of State
Jackson Gode '14 - Secretary of State
Nithya Menon '12 - Secretary of State
Claire Hoover '11 - Secretary of State
Ben Rubinfeld '03 - Governor
Is Youth Legislature a class?
How many kids can participate in Youth Legislature?
How much time does it take to prepare for the competition?
No, Youth Leg is an extracurricular club that meets once a week during lunch.
We typically have 15 to 20 kids.
It typically requires four to five hours preparation for each event. Total preparation time depends on how many events you engage with.
Post RSS Feeds
Subscribe to Post Alerts
SAAS Youth Legislature Delegation 2020-21
June
7
,
2021
Gode '14 Published in The Brookings Institution Blog
September
5
,
2019
Seattle Academy Youth Legislature visits the State Capitol
May
21
,
2019
Seattle Academy Well Represented at Youth Legislature
May
15
,
2018