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Youth Senate approves slate of bills on civic education, workplace financial literacy and school safety
Summary
The YMCA Youth Senate passed multiple measures including an educational advocacy summit grant (SB 4.21), a financial-literacy requirement for 16–25-year-old employees (SB 5.16), school-based gun-violence prevention education (SB 10.15) and protections to keep crisis hotlines unblocked (HB 7.06). Debates focused on funding, scope and implementation details.
The YMCA Youth Senate on [date not specified] approved a series of bills addressing civics education, youth financial literacy and school safety after floor debate and question-and-answer sessions.
Gavin Cruz, sponsor of Senate Bill 4.21, said the bill would create an "educational advocacy summit" and provide grants to help schools overcome transportation and lodging costs for students to visit the state capitol. "These grants help schools that do not have the proper accommodation to engage in a day trip or maybe an overnight stay," Cruz said during opening remarks. Cruz told colleagues the program would be school-applied grants, not individual student awards, and cited a proposed $50,000 funding line tied to partnerships with nonprofit groups including the YMCA.
Lawmakers also approved Senate Bill 5.16, which Ben Zimmer (Harrison Prep) sponsored to require businesses to make state-approved financial-education programs available to employees ages 16–25 as part of onboarding. Zimmer said the requirement would impose "almost literally no money" on employers because online, state-approved modules could be used. Delegates debated exemptions for small "mom-and-pop" shops and whether the training would deter hiring youth; proponents said the measure was intended to be low-cost and voluntary for small employers.
On school safety, the chamber passed SB 10.15, introduced by Camille Breen Hurst, to add firearm-safety and school-shooting-prevention education. Breen Hurst argued the curriculum would be optional for students with trauma and include opt-out provisions: "If they have some sort of trauma, they're allowed to opt out just like with [other courses]," she said. Opponents sought clearer definitions of curriculum content and implementation costs; proponents said existing free programs and videos could be used and that teachers could deliver the material without major new funding.
Delegates also approved HB 7.06, which makes it illegal to block access to crisis hotlines and specified websites, expanding protections beyond federally designated numbers such as 911 and 988. Proponent Trevor Bartosh cited youth access statistics and argued the bill would prevent device-level restrictions that could block life-saving resources. During debate, members raised enforceability and parental-control interactions; supporters said federal protections for 911/988 remain in place and the bill targets additional designated hotlines and sites.
Each of these measures passed after floor debate and voice or placard votes; where concerns were raised about funding, implementation timelines and definitions, sponsors said technical fixes or clarifying amendments could follow during the statutory drafting process.
The chamber closed the session after approving other bills on topics including self-defense instruction in schools, gun-storage requirements, parental-leave memorials and changes to corporal-punishment rules, and recessed until the next scheduled meeting.
