Da Vinci’s Youth & Government Delegation Returns Home from Camp Roberts, Bill Hearing Night Scheduled for Dec. 1

Over Veteran’s Day weekend, Da Vinci Science’s Youth & Government Delegation represented Da Vinci Schools in California’s first of two annual Youth & Government (Y&G) conferences at Camp Roberts in San Miguel, CA.

The Da Vinci Delegation is made up of 31 students who are learning how the government works firsthand by participating in a mock government with 2,000 other California students, complete with mock elections, elected officials, committees, bills, and voting. The Da Vinci students serve on various committees, such as the Prison Reform Committee, Environment Committee, and Education Committee, just to name a few.

The Youth & Government program is an 86-year-old mock government and court program established in 1937 by the YMCA. The program serves 55,000 students across the country with active programs in 41 states and Washington, D.C., as well as program opportunities available to students in all 50 states.

California’s delegation has roughly 2,000 students and focuses on issues that our state and its residents face. The student delegates create mock bills that they believe will help to support the state and/or help to solve various problems our state and its residents face. The mock bills go through multiple rounds of debate within the various committees and chambers and the bills that survive are ultimately brought before the elected Youth Governor to sign into mock law or veto.

Mock bills that are signed into law are then presented to California’s real General Assembly as recommendations for consideration.

On December 1, 2023 at 6pm in the BlackBox Theater at our 201 N. Douglas St. campus, Da Vinci students are hosting a Bill Hearing Night to present their current bills, publicly debate them, and vote on which bills will be presented at the Sacramento conference in February 2024. All audience members are invited to be a part of this mock civic process and cast their vote as to which bills should move forward to Sacramento.

If you’d like to join us, and participate in the mock civic process, please join us, and bring your kids. The more young people who learn how to engage in the civic process, the stronger our democracy will be for generations to come.

Last year our Da Vinci delegation was made up of students from Da Vinci Design, Da Vinci Communications, and Da Vinci Science. Below is a quick list of some of the accomplishments our students achieved last year:

• Bill proposal won 1ST PLACE in the National Assembly!
• Bill proposal won 1ST PLACE in Board of Education!
• Bill proposal FINALIST in the Board of Education!
• Forum program: BILL PASSED into law and signed by the Youth Governor!
• Department of Finance: BUDGET CHOSEN (only one from the entire program) and signed by the Youth Governor!
• A DV delegate won an AWARD for Media Enthusiast!
• 2 DV delegates WON all 3 questions in Appellate Court!
• 1 DV delegate’s group WON 2 of 3 questions in Appellate Court! 
• A delegate’s group wrote the 2nd most articles in her Journalism program!
• Proposal PASSED and written into the CA Constitution!
• Sent a delegate to CONA this last summer (here’s the website)

Thank you to all the students, past and present, who represent Da Vinci Schools so powerfully and so professionally as advocates and delegates for the issues that matter to you, your fellow community members, and residents of California at large. With California being one of the world’s largest economies, the issues we study here — in mock government or real government—can have powerful impacts on people all over the world.

Congratulations again! And thank you for your service to the causes that matter to you, your desire to make the world a better place, and your commitment to the civic process. We are so proud of you!

You can learn more about the Youth & Government program by  clicking here.