Though the outcome was disappointing, it was a good experience for the students, Ms. Panik said. The only downside is that it takes time, but the students know far more about their state. While many students take on the role of lobbyist as part of an ad hoc class project, a few states, such as Maryland and Oregon, actively teach their students to be politically involved, according to the Reston, Va.-based National Association of Student Councils. In Maryland, for example, students are often deeply involved in getting education legislation passed. Each year since 1981, the office has held a session to teach up to 800 students statewide how to research legislation.
Students also attend workshops on how to lobby and create a platform.
The system, she said, has expanded on its original premise of teaching students and then sending them back into their schools and communities to get involved. Students who become a part of the MASC programs learn skills such as how to cooperate with one another, Ms. Travetto said. Support for student lobbyists in Maryland has grown over the years. When such activism began to increase about a decade ago, a lot of people said students were too young to be involved in this kind of work, Ms. Travetto said. But that has changed little by little, and Maryland's programs are now emulated in other states.