Legislative Youth Advisory Council

# Legislative Youth Advisory Council The Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC) is the statutory, nonpartisan youth advisory body to the Washington State Legislature. Roughly 22 students are selected each cycle from a range of political, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and each serves a two-year term producing real policy recommendations for legislators. ## What You'll Do - Research youth-facing policy issues in committees and draft recommendations for the legislature - Testify before legislative committees and lobby legislators on council priorities - Take part in the annual Action Day in Olympia - Convene monthly as a full council and meet in person up to six times a year - Organize outreach events that bring other Washington students into the policy process ## Who Should Apply Washington residents in grades 7-10 at the time of application, ages 14-18. The application asks for four short essay responses (300-word limit each) and a letter of recommendation. Selection is competitive and the council deliberately recruits across the state, not just from the Puget Sound corridor. ## Outcomes LYAC is free to participants. Members finish a two-year term with committee testimony on the record, drafted policy language, working relationships with sitting legislators, and one of the few genuinely governmental leadership credentials available to a middle or early high schooler.