Students may begin signing up for Youth Leg tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m.

Mr. Berino will begin collecting payments ($275.00 check to SPCHS) for Youth Legislature in the school lobby/foyer tomorrow, Wednesday September 24, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. If you arrive earlier, please begin a single-file line outside of the school lobby doors to the courtyard until Mr. Berino arrives.

Please, no cutting in line, and you must submit your own payment in person – you may not do it for your friends. Space is limited, and spaces will be filled on a first come, first serve basis.  Payment secures your spot and is non-refundable.

Afterwards, Mr. Berino will continue collecting payments in between classes and after school in his room (206) until Friday, September 26. If he is not in his room, you will need to come back again to submit your payment in person.

The Mississippi Youth Legislature is a model legislative and judicial program for High School Students in grades 9-12. For this one of a kind conference, students from public and private schools across the state come together in our State Capitol and participate in a mock legislative session. Each student may participate as a legislator, attorney, Supreme Court Justice, Lobbyist, press delegate, or legislative page. Each legislator writes a piece of legislation that they debate through the legislature in hopes of having it signed into “law”. Each piece of proposed legislation, or bill, goes through the full legislative process. Each bill has to be first passed out of its prospective committee before being sent to the floor of the House or Senate. Bills may be amended, combined, or tabled, just as in the real legislature. The leadership for the programs also comes from the students, each session electing a full cabinet of officers that serve over the next year’s Youth legislature. In addition to floor and committee debates, the students also get to experience other aspects of the political system.

They participate in caucuses, political rallies, elections, gubernatorial debates, and press conferences. The press corps is responsible for recording the actions of the legislature and reporting it in the conference newspaper. The Model Supreme Court allows participants to experience the Judicial Branch of our state government as students serve as Attorneys or Supreme Court Justices and present actual cases heard by the Mississippi Supreme Court. Students may choose to serve as Lobbyists, where they will strive towards the goal of influencing Legislators’ opinions on legislation and important issues facing the state. Participants interact with actual state officials to learn first hand the importance of becoming civically engaged citizens. The Youth Legislature Program allows participants to gain an in-depth knowledge of our state’s political, judicial and legislative systems.

For questions, please contact Mr. Berino.