Our Work
Our Work
LYAC Year in Review: Annual Report
During the Legislative Session
Each January, the Washington State Legislature convenes for a Legislative Session, which spans 105 days in odd-numbered years and 60 days in even-numbered years. During this time, LYAC is busy advocating for its legislative agenda by meeting with legislators and testifying before legislative committees. LYAC also organizes the largest youth civic engagement event at the State Capitol, Action Day, which brings hundreds of students from all over the state to Olympia to engage with the legislative process.
During the Legislative Interim
LYAC spends the time between active legislative sessions engaging in a wide variety of activities and projects, including but not limited to:
Writing legislation
Partnering with government agencies such as the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Health, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and more;
Supporting youth organizations across the ideological spectrum;
Hosting town halls and workshops around the state to promote student civic engagement;
Surveying young people in every community about their policy priorities;
Promoting student voice through media organizations such as KING-5, Teen Vogue, the AP, Q-13 Fox, KIRO Seattle, The Seattle Times, and the U.S. News & World Report
Meeting with government officials and staff, community leaders, and other experts.
Legislative Highlights
One of the codified responsibilities of LYAC is to advise the legislature on "proposed and pending legislation." As a result, each year the council lobbies legislators and testifies in committee hearings on behalf of legislation it feels positively impacts youth. Below is a non-comprehensive list of LYAC-endorsed legislation that has passed into law.
2021-22
Despite a new learning curve of fully virtual Session, this session was an amazing opportunity to meet with hundreds of legislators and network across the state.
2020-2021
The 2021 Washington legislative session was extraordinarily successful for LYAC.
106 meetings with legislators
8 bills passed
$36 million in legislation lobbied into law
10 testimonies in committee
1 bill conceived, written, lobbied, and passed by LYAC members
HB 1373 - Promoting student access to information about behavioral health resources. (This legislation was entirely conceived, written, lobbied, and passed by members of the council)
HB 1356 - Prohibiting the inappropriate use of Native American names, symbols, or images as public school mascots, logos, or team names.
HB 1365 - Procuring and supporting appropriate computers and devices for public school students and instructional staff.
SB 5044 - Concerning professional learning, equity, cultural competency, and dismantling institutional racism in the public school system.
HB 1140 - Concerning juvenile access to attorneys when contacted by law enforcement.
HB 1225 - Concerning school-based health centers.
HB 1302 - Concerning college in the high school programs.
SB 5299 - Allowing the use of computer science credits for the purpose of graduation requirements.
2019-2020
The following bills in LYAC’s 2019-20 legislative portfolio were signed into law:
SB 6066
Concerning the expansion of ethnic studies materials and resources for public school students in grades kindergarten through six.
Passed! Effective 6/11/2020
Read the bill summary here.
HB 1660
Concerning the participation of students who are low income in extracurricular activities.
Passed! Effective 6/11/2020
Read the bill summary here.
SB 5395
Requires comprehensive sexual education in public schools.
Passed! Effective 6/11/2020
Read the bill summary here.
2017-18
In 2018, LYAC made a major step toward its goal of widespread teen civic engagement with the passage of 'motor voter', a decades long goal for the organization.
HB 1513
Concerning voter pre-registration for teens age 16 and 17 at the DMV and other government entities, as well as civics education for youth.
Passed! Effective 3/19/2018
Read the bill summary here.
2015-16
HB 1682
Concerning the creation of a grant program to sponsor school-housing partnerships for homeless youth.
Passed! Effective 4/1/2016
Read the bill summary here.
2013-14
HB 1651
Concerning access to juvenile records
Passed! Effective 6/12/2014
Read the bill summary here.
HB 1724
Concerning the institution that statements made by a juvenile in the course of a mental health or
chemical dependency screening or assessment are inadmissible as evidence of the juvenile's guilt in a juvenile offense matter or an adult criminal proceeding
Passed! Effective 6/12/2014
Read the bill summary here.
HB 1412
Requires school districts to provide incentives for students to participate in community service
Passed! Effective 7/28/2013
Read the bill summary here.
HB 1404
Establishes a penalty for retail liquor licenses when alcohol is sold to those under 21
Passed! Effective 7/28/2013
Read the bill summary here.
HB 1291
Concerning the establishment of a council to address and combat the effects of sex trafficking
Passed! Effective 7/28/2013
Read the bill summary here.
2011-12
SB 5895
Standardizes evaluation system for teachers and principals
Passed! Effective 7/28/2012
Read the bill summary here.
SB 5991
Requires employees of higher education institutions to report observations of child abuse
Passed! Effective 7/28/2012
Read the bill summary here.
2007-08
SB 5093
Expands healthcare opportunities for low-income youth
Passed! Effective 7/28/2007
Read the bill summary here.
HB 1131
Provides children in foster care access to college financial aid
Passed! Effective 7/28/2007
Read the bill summary here.
HB 1201
Expands Medicaid access to 21-year-olds
Passed! Effective 7/28/2007
Read the bill summary here.
SB 5297
Ensures scientifically accurate sexual education in schools
Passed! Effective 7/28/2007
Read the bill summary here.
SB 5098
Guarantees college tuition for certain low-income youth
Passed! Effective 7/28/2007
Read the bill summary here.
If you have any questions about work we have done in the past, please contact us.