Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) is a movement of young people developing transferable skills and demonstrating youth visibility in policymaking. We're creating a vehicle for driving civic transformation as we build a social movement for bettering our communities and dismantling oppressive power structures in education.

From delivering crucial testimony to the U.S. Senate on the harmful impacts of book bans, to speaking on panels at national conferences like SXSW, we've been engaging an intergenerational community of partners in addressing Generation Z's most intricate and complex issues regarding the future of democracy.

In the last six months alone, we have successfully:

Convened students from across Texas for our second annual "SEAT at the Capitol" summit in Austin, followed by a Free Speech Academy summer program co-hosted with the ACLU of Texas.
Organized in school districts to defeat politicized propositions allowing uncertified religious chaplains to replace school counselors.
Prompted a federal civil rights investigation into a school district's comprehensive anti-transgender policy and defeated copycat policies in other districts.
Mobilized nearly 150 people to testify at the state capitol against university bans on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Delivered a letter to 1,000+ superintendents clarifying Title IX nondiscrimination protects are for everyone.
Met with 100+ congressional offices to advocate for the introduction of student-authored legislation supporting student mental health, suicide prevention, firearm safety, and bullying intervention.
Addressed thousands at keynotes for the American School Counselor Association, Children's Defense Fund, Asheville Ideas Fest, American Library Association, Beyond Differences, Eleanor Roosevelt Center, and more.

We have ambitious plans, and we hope to count on your support. The 89th Texas Legislature will be a formidable show of force from lawmakers with ulterior motives to defund public education and target vulnerable students.

Our community-building programs and impact-driven actions require a growing budget to alleviate our limited capacity. Please consider contributing to make our student-led efforts possible.

Your contribution allows us to:

Organize transformative direct action – Students will hold significantly fewer rights this school year than the last. We plan to continue to hand out SEAT's "Know Your Rights" lanyards with our Student Resource Hub, distribute banned books that empower and affirm students, and show up where lawmakers seek to legislate our youth out of existence.
Eliminate barriers to the frontlines – Every student has a voice, but not necessarily the means to access power. Texas is huge, and traveling to Austin or even a school board meeting requires a schlep to express our needs to policymakers. We even receive invitations to the White House, Congress, and other speaking engagements that require financing. The only way we will reduce inequality and create cultural shifts in public education, policy, and democracy is if we plant the necessary seeds for leadership growth and break barriers to accessing decision-making.
Host youth-led programs for youth – We are anticipating great successes with our upcoming Know Your Rights training, a youth voice art installation, and our third annual advocacy day at the capitol. We will soon launch our fall leadership program, a Texas Legislature Bootcamp where students will learn the ropes of navigating the lege, introduce bills of their own, and possibly be matched for internships with lawmaker offices or public policy organizations.
Compensate a robust leadership team – As full time students, we don't have unlimited time and have bills to pay. Members of our leadership team are reimbursed around $100 with a volunteer commitment of about 40 hours a month. SEAT is our family – it's a peer mentor network contributing to our personal growth and leadership development. With growing issues to tackle, we must grow our capacity.

Stay in touch with us!

Visit our website at studentsengaged.org, join our email list, and follow us on Instagram at @studentsengagedtx.

SEAT is Headed Back to School ✨🪑💥

By Katy Lions Foundation

SEAT is Headed Back to School ✨🪑💥

In Texas, Student Organizers Need Your Help Defending Democracy and Public Education

Team Members