U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) has begun the ninth year of his Congressional Youth Cabinet program, bringing together 80 students from across Arkansas at the Old State House Museum in Little Rock. The selected participants come from a range of educational backgrounds, including public, private, charter, and homeschools.
Boozman addressed the group at the kickoff event, saying, “I was pleased to welcome the next generation of our state’s leaders to this year’s Congressional Youth Cabinet where they will explore legislative solutions to issues that interest them and meet peers who share their enthusiasm for civic engagement and the democratic process. Their excitement for this initiative is encouraging and I know they will collaborate eagerly while working to identify their policy priorities, conduct impressive research and present their findings and ideas later this school year.”
The Congressional Youth Cabinet is structured as a nonpartisan program focused on civics education. It offers students direct exposure to how government works and encourages them to understand how public policy affects individuals and communities. Over the course of the school year, participants attend meetings, work in teams to select national issues for study, research those topics, and develop policy recommendations which they will present to Boozman and his staff in the spring.
A full list of participating students from each congressional district was released by Boozman’s office. More photos and videos from the kick-off event are available online.
