Sr. Youth Legislature November 5-8, 2008

The YMCA Youth Legislature is a model legislative and judicial program for High School Students in grades 9-12. For this one of a kind conference, students from public and private schools across the state come together in our State Capitol and participate in a mock legislative session. Each student may participate as a legislator, attorney, Supreme Court Justice, Lobbyist, press delegate, or legislative page. Each legislator writes a piece of legislation that they debate through the legislature in hopes of having it signed into “law”. Each piece of proposed legislation, or bill, goes through the full legislative process. Each bill has to be first passed out of its prospective committee before being sent to the floor of the House or Senate. Bills may be amended, combined, or tabled, just as in the real legislature. The leadership for the programs also comes from the students, each session electing a full cabinet of officers that serve over the next year’s Youth legislature. In addition to floor and committee debates, the students also get to experience other aspects of the political system.

They participate in caucuses, political rallies, elections, gubernatorial debates, and press conferences. The press corps is responsible for recording the actions of the legislature and reporting it in the conference newspaper. The Model Supreme Court allows participants to experience the Judicial Branch of our state government as students serve as Attorneys or Supreme Court Justices and present actual cases heard by the Mississippi Supreme Court. Students may choose to serve as Lobbyists, where they will strive towards the goal of influencing Legislators’ opinions on legislation and important issues facing the state. Participants interact with actual state officials to learn first hand the importance of becoming civically engaged citizens. The YMCA Youth Legislature Program allows participants to gain an in-depth knowledge of our state’s political, judicial and legislative systems.