Bob Graham Education Center’s (BGEC) law studies class has won yet another district competition. The students earned first place in the Project Citizen contest for their project, “Life is on the Line.”
Project Citizen is a program that promotes competent and responsible participation in local and state government within public schools. The program helps participants learn how to monitor and influence public policy.
The class worked cooperatively to identify a public policy problem that needed to be addressed. The class researched teenage binge drinking and alcohol poisoning. They chose to propose that the state’s “911 Good Samaritan Act” which gives amnesty to a person calling related to a drug overdose, also include alcohol related emergencies.
The students felt that it is important to amend Florida’s HB 0125 to include alcohol poisoning. This would help save the lives of teens in danger of dying due to alcohol poisoning. The class did lengthy research on the problem, evaluated alternative solutions, developed their own solution in the form of a public policy, and created a political action plan to enlist local or state authorities to adopt their proposed policy.
The students also developed a portfolio of their work. Their project will now go on to be presented in a public hearing showcase before a panel of civic-minded community members at the state level.