Web Log
Nov 12, 02:43 AM | Author: jane kim | Category: schools
My First Resolution: Youth Vote
The Board Of Education unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday, October 23rd, to register all willing and eligible 17.5 year old students in SFUSD and launch a bigger and badder Youth Vote program in partnership with the Youth Commission, Department of Children, Youth and their Families, SFUSD Student Advisory Council, SFGOV Television, the Mayor’s office and David Binder’s pollster firm.
It’s the first resolution that I introduced and sponsored, co-written by the Youth Commissioners, Student Advisory Council members and myself.
Voting is a habit that we must teach and practice at the schools. Nationally, only 1 in 5 young people, 18-29 years old, are registered to vote.
In order to increase voter turnout and civic participation of young people, SFUSD will be launching a three-day required voting curriculum for seniors and optional curriculum for 9-11th graders and organizing mock elections in schools with ballots and polling stations! Student leaders will announce the result of the vote a week before the election to let adult voters know how they feel about candidates and propositions.
In addition, David Binder will conduct student focus groups and annual student surveys that will accompany the ballots. This will be the first time the Board and the District will be getting true opinion surveys from high school students.
Since 1992, this program has been run by volunteers including the Youth Commission and Coleman Advocates. We are institutionalizing and improving this program to increase student voter turn out, engage young people on all the issues facing California voters ranging from candidates to propositions and re-enforce the practice of voting and civic participation amongst young people AND their families.
Finally, SFUSD will be registering all willing and eligible 17.5-18 year olds in the district. And yes, this program will be youth-driven—student leaders will be participating in hiring a new full-time coordinator and performing student outreach and voter registration.
The hard launch will be the February 2008 Presidential Primaries! Look out for us!
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