Youth for Justice
Youth for Justice is a statewide program within our high schools that teaches the principles of government.
Last week, students from the Cody High School came to Jackson to work with students at the Jackson Hole High School on this year's project. How it works is that all of the high schools from around the state research and come up with ideas for a proposed bill to the Wyoming Legislature. They then get on a video conference call and each high school presents their idea for a proposed bill. This year, the students from across the state picked a bill the prohibits doctor shopping for prescription pills. The students recognized prescription drug abuse as a growing concern in our state. They did the research and found potential answers from other states. They then found a sponsor for their bill (Rep. Simpson from Cody) and now they have begun working on their strategy for getting the bill passed. They do more research and come up with pamphlets and work on their debating skills in order to convince legislators.
In February the students from quite a few of the high schools will converge on the state capitol and will spend two days helping to educate legislators on the issues. They also get a chance to meet the Governor and other state elected officials. What makes that program great is that the students learn how government works by actually participating.
I attended for about an hour last week the working meeting between the Cody kids and the Jackson kids. They were very impressive. They were articulate and knew their stuff. In the past, Youth for Justice has been responsible for getting quite a few bills passed including the anti-huffing bill, the open container bill, graduated driver's licenses, and others. Sue Ball on the School Board, Gary Elliot, the high school principal, and Jennifer Shew, the high school counselor have really worked overtime to make this year's Youth for Justice program a great success. They have put together some really great students that are very excited about going to Cheyenne in February.