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• By Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed. • IDRA Newsletter • January 2026 •

Students Claim Their Place in Education Policy – IDRA Civic Changemakers Equips Students to Speak Their Truth to Power

Students can experience education policy not as an abstract set of decisions, but as forces that shape their classrooms, their opportunities and their daily lives. The new IDRA Civic Changemakers program grew out of our recognition of the unique value young people bring to civic spaces.

IDRA Civic Changemakers is a civic leadership initiative for high school students. Students meet after school to learn about education policy and advocacy. They then have a small-group shadowing experience at the Georgia State Capitol, where students apply their policy skills in a real-world context.

Participating students have had little prior exposure to the state capitol or to reading legislation. Yet they are uniquely well-positioned to speak to the real impacts of education policy and identify gaps between intent and outcome.

After the 2025 Georgia session, we sat down with two of our Civic Changemakers students to chat about their experience. Their stories illustrate how young people with different backgrounds, interests and starting points can engage with civic processes in ways that are deeply personal and profoundly impactful.

“Every student’s voice is essential.”

John, a junior at the time of his interview, entered IDRA Civic Changemakers as an outspoken student who nevertheless questioned whether student voices truly mattered in systems that felt distant and immovable.

John explained that IDRA Civic Changemakers helped dismantle the idea that civic participation is out of reach. Instead, it revealed policy engagement as something tangible and learnable, something students can step into with the right support.

John said the program is about “breaking past a lot of the myths about how participation is complicated or too bureaucratic to get involved in” and showing students that “it actually is relatively simple to be involved directly in policy change instead of it just being this intimidating process.”

“In the next year and during college, I really want to make my main priorities being involved in advocacy, talking with the legislators, making sure other students know what’s going on… because a lot of the issues are very, very personal to me.”

 – John, IDRA Civic Changemakers student

Beyond skill-building, John emphasized the emotional stakes of being included in civic spaces. In a climate where many students feel isolated, unheard or overwhelmed by the issues affecting their schools and communities, IDRA Civic Changemakers offered something foundational: a sense of belonging.

“The most powerful thing I learned,” John shared, “is that there is always a safe space for me… that there are always people who do support me… and that regardless of how bleak certain things can seem… there is a place where you can feel represented and have belonging.” That sense of safety and recognition, he explained, made it possible to engage difficult topics without feeling alone.

This shift also reshaped how John understands student power. Before participating in the program, he described feeling as though harmful conditions in schools were simply things that happened and that they were beyond students’ control.

Afterward, student power took on a collective meaning for him: “It’s not only that every student has a voice, but that every student’s voice is essential… It’s not just me speaking for myself, it’s being able to influence people around me so that we can be heard as a collective.”

John’s experience underscores a core truth at the heart of IDRA Civic Changemakers: when students are treated as legitimate participants in civic life, when their lived experiences are recognized as expertise, they begin to see themselves not as passive recipients of policy, but as active contributors to shaping it.

This understanding is foundational to sustained civic engagement and to building systems that are responsive to the people most affected by them.

“We’re the ones being affected.”

Elisabeth (“Liz”) participated in testimony and legislative hearings and described how she learned to navigate civic spaces that are often crowded, fast-moving and intimidating.

When she testified in a hearing at the Georgia capitol, she described feeling nervous despite careful preparation, unsure of how her words would be received. What stood out most afterward was the affirmation she felt.

“Because I was a student,” she reflected, “that was an important perspective that was valued during that hearing.”

Rather than being symbolic, her presence carried weight, reinforcing the idea that students belong in decision-making spaces not as observers, but as contributors.

“We’re the ones being affected,” she said. “It all comes back to us and what our education looks like, so our values and input should be appreciated and talked about more.”

“I feel like my voice matters because I’m a part of a lot of minority groups, and those are underrepresented. And I feel like sometimes people don’t know that you can go to these legislators and just talk to them like a person and maybe find out their values and try to change stuff about these bills.”

 – Liz, IDRA Civic Changemakers student

At the same time, Liz was clear that meaningful participation requires more than access alone. She emphasized the importance of concrete skills: preparing questions, speaking confidently with legislators, and recognizing when conversations are redirected or deflected. Learning how to navigate those dynamics, she explained, helped her understand advocacy not as a performance, but as a strategic practice.

These skills, she noted, are rarely taught in classrooms, yet they are critical for students who want to engage beyond surface-level civics.

For Liz, IDRA Civic Changemakers clarified not only why student voice matters, but how it can be exercised effectively. Through direct engagement, preparation and reflection, she came to see advocacy as something students can do effectively.

Her experience illustrates how empowering young people is not simply about inviting them into civic spaces; it is about equipping them to lead.

Looking Forward

When we launched the program in 2024, our primary goal was to introduce students to what state-level advocacy looks like in practice. The experience was informal and largely centered on the real-time policy work underway during students’ visits to the state capitol.

Even with minimal preparation, students engaged in thoughtful, transformative conversations with legislators about policies that had direct and significant implications for their lives.

In response to student feedback, we grew the program in 2025 into a more structured, skill-based curriculum focused on the concepts and competencies students said mattered most to them. This shift brought Civic Changemakers directly to schools, expanding access to civic learning while maintaining opportunities for students to engage with policymakers.

Together, John’s and Liz’s reflections make clear that IDRA Civic Changemakers is about honoring students’ lived experiences by providing access, building skills and creating spaces where student perspectives are taken seriously.

When young people are trusted as experts of their own experiences and equipped to engage with systems of power, they do more than participate. They reshape what civic engagement looks like. IDRA Civic Changemakers affirms a simple but often overlooked truth: the students most affected by education policy are not just impacted by it; they are essential to getting it right.

A new cohort of students is participating in IDRA Civic Changemakers for the 2026 Georgia legislative session, and we hope to secure funding to support the program in Georgia and bring it to Texas in the future.

Learn more and see videos of students testifying.

Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., is IDRA’s Georgia advocacy director and coordinates the IDRA Education Policy Fellows and the IDRA Civic Changemakers programs (mikayla.arciaga@idra.org).

FAQs

What is IDRA Civic Changemakers?
It is a civic leadership program that prepares high school students to understand and engage in education policy and advocacy.

Who participates in the program?
High school students who want to learn how education decisions affect their schools and communities.

What do students do in Civic Changemakers?
Students learn about education policy, build advocacy skills and participate in real-world experiences, such as shadowing and legislative testimony.

Why is student voice central to the program?
Students are directly affected by education policy, and their lived experiences offer critical insight that strengthens decision-making.

Where does the program operate?
The program currently operates in Georgia, with plans to expand and bring the model to Texas.