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Source: Colorado Newsline
Teens from the Colorado Youth Advisory Council presented to a state committee ideas that could turn into bills during the 2025 legislative session. The ideas included policy proposals related to naloxone distribution, accessibility and clean energy. The proposals were developed by committees within the COYAC. The group of teenagers on the council come from all over the state and range in age from 14 to 19. Students presented their ideas for the next session to the Legislature’s Colorado Youth Advisory Council Committee last week.
August 6, 2024
These teens want to change the world — starting with Colorado laws
Source: Chalkbeat Colorado
Help schools install solar panels to cut fossil fuel use. Reduce cafeteria food waste by creating “share” tables and composting programs. Stock opioid overdose remedies in school AED cabinets. These are a few of ideas that Colorado teens proposed to state lawmakers on Thursday as part of a program that seeks to include young people in the legislative process. It’s possible some of the ideas could eventually become law.
August 1, 2024
Seeking youth advisor to Colorado Academic Standards revision committee (Apply by Aug. 1)
Source: Colorado Department of Education
A 2022 COYAC proposal that became SB23-008 Youth Involvement Education Standards Review created this position! The Colorado Department of Education will soon be accepting nominations and applications for Youth Advisors (ages 14-19) to the Colorado Academic Standards revision process for 2024-26. Applications open on June 1, 2024 and close at 11:59 PM on August 1, […]
June 12, 2024
A panel of students helps Colorado write laws. It’s looking for its next crop of teens.
Source: The Colorado Sun
The legislature’s longtime nonpartisan organization for youth is recruiting new members who want to help shape bills and the direction of the state
June 4, 2024
Legislature seeks applications for Youth Advisory Council
Source: The Mountain Mail
The Colorado General Assembly announced in a press release that it is looking for youth ages 14-19 to serve on the nonpartisan Colorado Youth Advisory Council for the 2024-25 term.
May 30, 2024
Colorado Youth Advisory Council seeks teen members
Source: Montrose Daily Press
The Colorado Legislature has openings for its nonpartisan Colorado Youth Advisory Council for the 2024-25 term, including in the local district, Senate District 5.
May 29, 2024
BEST & BRIGHTEST: A passion for public policy and theater [featuring Meghan Taylor]
Source: The Colorado Springs Gazette
Manitou Springs High School senior Meghan Taylor says creating a “safe and kind space for children” is one of the most important things to her. Taylor serves as the only teenager on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Suicide Prevention Commission and also serves on the Inside Out Youth Services Policy Advocacy Committee and as an executive board member of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council.
May 4, 2024
Youth Advisory Council Proposes Solutions for Violence, Mental Health and Gender-Affirming Practices
Source: Westword
Young Coloradans are often affected by policies passed by the state legislature while not being old enough to have a say in such legislation. But what if the kids were in charge?
August 11, 2023
Colorado teens seek new state laws to support transgender youth (Paywalled)
Source: Colorado Politics
The laws could mean life or death for young transgender Coloradans, the teenagers argued, detailing first- and second-hand accounts of transgender youth struggling with suicidal ideations due to issues they say have policy solutions.- Featuring COYAC members Mason Evans, Leigh Schmidt, and Meghan Taylor.
August 9, 2023
"A group of teenagers in Colorado might urge the Legislature to increase resources for health care providers to become trained in youth gender-affirming care as more people travel to the state from areas with limited access to such care...'This care is essential and it needs to be expanded statewide,' Mason Evans, a member of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, told state lawmakers during a virtual Wednesday hearing."
August 9, 2023