Pflugerville ISD students Kyra Newton and Farah Sabah spent the last day of their spring break at a public library. The two 17-year-olds wanted to make the most of their time off and that meant leading a seminar to teach young people how to get involved with the political process.
Newton told the nearly two dozen attendees — most of whom were teenagers — that civic engagement is about working to make your community a better place. That, she said, can take different forms.
“There’s political participation, so voting, advocating for policies or writing to legislators,” she said.
Newton said other types of civic engagement include volunteering, mentoring younger students and leading school initiatives. Sabah told the group she and Newton want to teach people about civic engagement because of the inequities they’ve seen.
“We mainly focus on [people of color], first generation and underserved communities and underprivileged teens and anyone that needs help,” she said.
Newton and Sabah co-founded Beyond Boundaries, a student-led organization that focuses on empowering Texas teenagers. Newton said their goal is to break down systemic barriers and create opportunities for all students. She also emphasized that teens don’t have to wait until they’re old enough to vote to weigh in on policies that affect them. Nearly one in four Texans is under 18, according to census data.
“Students are the future and their perspectives are vital,” she told her peers at the seminar.
Testifying on bills that affect young people
Newton, for one, isn’t waiting until she can cast a ballot to advocate for issues she cares about.
In 2023, when she was just 15, Newton testified in favor of the CROWN Act, a Texas law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination in schools and workplaces.
Newton returned to the Texas Capitol this year to speak out against legislation aiming to expand the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion policies at public universities to K-12 public schools. Newton told the Senate Committee on Education K-16 in February that she opposed Senate Bill 1565 because it targets programs that help her and other students “feel whole” and supported.
“I don’t want the youth of Texas, the future of our state, to disengage from school because they don’t see themselves represented in their learning,” she testified. “School should be a place of growth not exclusion.”
Sabah also testified against SB 1565, telling lawmakers that as a first-generation American, DEI programs “are not a luxury, they are a lifeline.” She said these initiatives are vital to leveling the playing field for all students.
“DEI is not about special treatment. It is about recognizing that different students need different resources to have the same chance at success,” she said.
Sabah said testifying before state lawmakers was intimidating.
“It is all old people and we were the youngest in the room. So, it was very scary to be the only kids in the room filled with adults that clearly had an opinion on us,” she said.
At the same time though, Sabah said, she thinks teenagers can have a bigger impact because lawmakers aren’t used to seeing kids take the time to come to the Capitol and testify.
“It’s just not a sight you see every day for teenagers to come in the government and try to have a say,” she said.
While SB 1565 was left pending in committee, the Texas Senate did vote along party lines last month to approve a similar measure. Senate Bill 12, a Republican-backed priority bill, would do things like prohibit schools from considering race or gender in hiring and ban classroom instruction or programming that addresses sexual orientation and gender identity. State leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have described DEI as part of a “woke agenda” to indoctrinate students.
Newton and Sabah don’t buy the idea that students are being indoctrinated. They said they’re motivated to speak out simply because they do not like the policies being proposed.
“I think it’s infuriating that somebody is going to sit up there and have the authority to make laws about something that they’re not experiencing — something they have not gone through,” Sabah said.
Newton shared that sentiment, adding no adults — not even her parents — had told her to get involved with activism.
“That didn’t make me start doing this work. It was the people that were making my decisions for me that made me want to speak up for myself,” she said.
The value of learning about civic engagement from peers
Newton said that it's important for young people to hear from their peers that there are other ways to make their voices heard besides voting. A lot of teenagers, she said, aren't given the tools to get involved with the political process.
“It’s our job as the youth to get other youth, other students, to, even if they don’t want to do this work, to just have the toolkit [and] the education,” she said.
One of the groups out there working to demystify the political process for young adults in Texas is Young Invincibles. Travis Evans is the southern regional director for the nonpartisan nonprofit that seeks to promote the voices of young people in the political process. He said the kind of youth-led activism Newton and Sabah are engaging in is powerful.
“They have to be a part of what’s happening with other young adults to really understand the process and engage in the political system year round,” he said.
Evans added young adults can face hurdles to getting involved in activism because they have a lot on their plates such as school, work and family obligations.
“I think meeting them where they are and providing spaces and supporting…young adults helps us create a culture of inviting young adults to really learn more about advocacy and how to be embedded in the political process,” he said.
That is exactly what Newton and Sabah set out to do: explain how the Texas Legislature works and how students can have a say in what lawmakers are proposing. Part of empowering young people to get involved with the legislative process, Sabah said, is making it more transparent and accessible.
“That is just what we’re trying to raise awareness about — that you don’t have to suffer in silence about any of the things that are affecting you in education these days or anywhere,” Sabah said. “You have a say."
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