Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105

For Immediate Release: September 16, 2004

Senators Go “Back to School”

Senators across the state will once again be traveling to schools in their districts to personally meet with students, answer questions and share ideas from the students in the public school system. The Senators will also provide the students with a greater understanding of the legislative process through explaining how a bill is drafted and the steps a bill goes through to become law.

America’s Legislators Back To School Week is September 20th through 24th and is sponsored by the National Conference for State Legislators (NCSL). The event is designed to teach young people, who will become Oklahoma’s future voters and leaders, what it is like to be a public servant. Legislators Back to School week will enable students to learn the ins and outs of our representative democracy.

The program was introduced in 1999 by NCSL as a one-day event. That one day was such a great success and so was well-received by legislators and schools that it was turned into a one-week event in 2001. According to an NCSL report in 1972, half of the population of 18 to 24-year-olds voted, but in the 2000 election, only 33 percent participated in the polls. The Legislators Back to School Week emphasizes the importance of involvement and the value of a representative democracy, especially during this time of great uncertainty.

ATTENTION NEWS EDITORS: Attached you will find a list of Senators that are participating in the NCSL Legislators Back to School Week along with their schedules. The media is welcome to attend any of the events; however it is strongly advised that you contact the school prior to attending so that the school administrators will be expecting you and will let you in the building.

For more information regarding the Legislators Back to School Week, please contact Adrianne Covington in the Senate Communications Department at (405) 530-2356.

Among the senators participating in the 2004 NCSL Legislator’s Back to School Week are the following:

Senator - District #

Cliff Aldridge 42

Cliff Branan 40

Bernest Cain 46

Gilmer Capps 26

Harry Coates 28

Glenn Coffee 30

Mary Easley 18

Jay Paul Gumm 06

Sam Helton 31

Mike Johnson 22

Robert Kerr 38

Owen Laughlin 27

Charlie Laster 17

Daisy Lawler 24

Debbe Leftwich 44

Rick Littlefield 01

Jim Maddox 32

Angela Monson 48

David Myers 20

Jim Reynolds 43

Nancy Riley 37

Ben Robinson 09

Kathleen Wilcoxson 45

Penny Williams 33

**If you need to reach a senator’s office to determine their schedule, please call the Senate switchboard at (405) 524-0126.

For more information contact:
Senate Communications Office - (405) 521-5774