Question

junior scholastic
skill bur...
name:
date:
comprehen...
know the news:
could their bill become a law?
read the article on pages 11-13, then a... the questions.

1. what prompted the florida teens to propose a bill, according to the article?

a they took classes to prepare for adulthood.
b a state representative encouraged them.
c they wanted to apply for jobs.
d they participated in a bill - drafting competition.

1. which question is not answered by \step 3: amending the bill\?

a does the senate have a committee process?
b does a bill typically need a companion bill fil...
high school,\ says laraina, a student at jefferson high school in tampa, florida.
laraina and her classmates came up with the proposal as part of a bill - drafting competition. but they knew that just having an idea for a law wasn’t enough. so last fall they teamed up with susan valdés, the state representative for their district, to make it happen. valdés agreed to sponsor their bill in the state house of representatives— and to help the students navigate the process.
to become a state law, the bill would need approval from both chambers of florida’s legislature: the house and the senate. then it would go to the governor for approval. even with valdés on their side, and laraina’s testimony, the odds weren’t in their favor. only a small fraction of bills are ultimately successful. what would it take to bring their law to life? read on to find out.
step 1
drafting the bill
laraina and her classmates knew what they wanted their bill to achieve. but its wording had to be precise and follow a specific format. to help, valdés submitted their idea to the house bill drafting service, a department in the legislature. the bill drafters worked with the teens to get the wording just so. “we went back and forth... a bunch of times just to make sure our bill was perfect and that everybody on the team was happy,” laraina says.
representative susan valdés (center) sponsored the jefferson students’ bill in late february.
at the same time, the teens met with an education policy expert to learn about potential life skills they could include in their bill. they ended up adding one more—learning how to apply for scholarships, grants, and loans to pay for college.
in late february, just before florida’s regular legislative session began, valdés and the students filed their bill in the house online. they hit the button together. high fives and cheering followed. “seeing the bill submitted was the most amazing experience out of the whole process,” sevion daniels, 18, recalls.
step 2
heading to committee
the bill’s first stop in...
workforce subcommittee to be exact. the house is divided into groups of lawmakers who focus on different topics. committees and subcommittees conduct hearings and gather more information about bills. then they decide whether those bills should be scrapped, changed, or moved along for more house members to consider.
laraina and her classmate genesis salcedo lima visited the state capitol in late march to address the careers and workforce subcommittee on behalf of their bill. “we were so scared because we’re a couple of teenagers in front...

Explanation:

To solve question 1 ("What prompted the Florida teens to propose a bill, according to the article?"):

Step 1: Analyze each option

• Option A: The article doesn’t mention taking classes to prepare for adulthood as a prompt for proposing the bill. Eliminate A.
• Option B: The article states "they teamed up with Susan Valdés... Valdés agreed to sponsor their bill" after they had the proposal. The prompt to propose the bill was not her encouragement (she helped later). Eliminate B.
• Option C: The article says they added "learning how to apply for scholarships... to pay for college" to the bill, but the prompt to propose the bill was not to apply for jobs. Eliminate C.
• Option D: The article says "Laraina and her classmates came up with the proposal as part of a bill - drafting competition." This matches the prompt.

Answer:

D. They participated in a bill - drafting competition.