U.S SENATE YOUTH PROGRAM

1. The student must hold a leadership position for the current 2021-2022 academic year in any one of the following student government, civic or educational organizations during the entire academic year. All student leadership positions are subject to the judgment and verification of the state selection administrators:

• Student Body president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer

• Class president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer

• Student Council representative

• A National Honor Society officer (including discipline-based Honor Societies such as the National English and Social Studies Honor Societies that include service components)

• Student representative elected or appointed (appointed by a panel, commission, or board) to a local, district, regional or state-level civic, service, and/or educational organization approved by the state selection administrator, where the student holds a position of representation to a constituency providing service to others.

2. Participation or holding an officer position in academic clubs and/or educational competition programs/conferences or organizations deigned primarily for the student’s personal development and enrichment do not qualify a student for USSYP, although many students who qualify participate in these activities. The positions listed below DO NOT qualify the student for the program:

• Attendance or officer position at Boys/Girls Nation or State summer conference

• Member of the National Honor Society (serving as an elected officer for the organization for the entire school year is acceptable)

• Member or leader of the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or JROTC

• A founder or chairperson of a self-created group

• A participant, captain, or officer in Mock Trial, Debate Team, Model U.N. or another academic club, conference, or competition where the primary engagement is for the individual educational enrichment

3. Exceptions to the residency requirement will only be made in the following cases:

• Students from DoDEA overseas will represent the state(s) of which the parents/guardians are U.S. legal voting residents. Students attending DoD schools in the U.S. or students enrolled through U.S. military bases in local schools must be residing in the state in which their school is located for the entire academic year.

• Students may reside in a state other than the state in which they attend school if they are enrolled in the only designated public high school available to them in a school district that crosses contiguous state borders through legal interstate agreements. Students in these schools shall make applications to the program through the state where the high school is located and shall represent that state if selected.