Dear neighbors,
Do you know a young person who wants to learn more about what goes on in their state government? They will have a great experience and get a good education too. It’s a week-long program during the legislative session, which starts the second week of January and will run until mid-March. Pages also earn a paycheck for their week in Olympia.
The Washington State Senate has one of the best page programs in the country, and applications for 2024 are open! This is an exciting program which allows many young Washingtonians to get a closer look at the civic process and learn firsthand about state government and the Legislature and they get to meet other students from all across the state.
Pages are students aged 14 through 16 who serve for one week during the legislative session. During that week, they spend time in Page School learning about the legislative process while also distributing materials throughout the Capitol campus, assisting legislators, working on the Senate floor, and presenting the colors at the opening of each day’s legislative session. Pages receive pay during their week in Olympia. Scholarships are also available for pages from families with financial need, and housing is available with host families in Olympia.
This is a unique opportunity, and I encourage young people to get involved! A student can only be a page one time between the ages of 14-16 so you won’t be the only one who has “never been there, “won’t know anybody,” or “has never done that before.”
Learn more and get instructions for applying here.
How you can get involved in the upcoming session:
Many of the ideas for legislation I’ve sponsored came from constituents, and all the bills we have passed benefitted from public input. As the legislative session approaches, I hope you’ll stay in touch with me so that I can best represent your issues and concerns in Olympia.
- Learn how a bill becomes a law at leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Overview.aspx.
- Find legislation at app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/.
- Watch your democracy in action at TVW.org.
- Testify in committee hearings remotely or in person at leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Participating.aspx.
- Stay informed by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1.800.562.6000.
- Follow my official legislative Facebook page at Facebook.com/SenKarenKeiser/.
- Reach out via my contact information below.
Always,
Sen. Karen Keiser
Senate President Pro Tempore
Chair, Senate Labor & Commerce Committee