Press release:
Students from Global Connections High School in SeaTac authored three bills that passed the National E-Congress, an interactive online simulation of the United States Congress run by the Youth Leadership Initiative.

All students in the You and Your Government class at Global Connections researched and wrote their own bills, which were then exchanged online and debated by their fellow E-Legislators in classroom committees all across the country.

This year, three seniors had their bills approved by committees and pass on to the House floor vote, where they were voted into law.

Zaki Mohamud’s bill, “An Opportunity for Healthy Food,” proposed a ban on fast food advertising for the month of February to promote heart health.

Karina Gomez created the “Hope Act” to support Latina education.

Melisa Parras’ bill, “Stop, Think, React: Hate Crimes Need to be Taken Seriously”, targeted bullying and harassment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) students.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these capable World citizens,” says their teacher, Kate Hennessy-Fiske.

Youth Leadership Initiative, sponsor of the E-Congress program, is a national civics education program based at the University of Virginia