Want to get rid of your teen for a week? Send them to be a House or Senate page! Legislative pages are sponsored by senators and representatives and serve for one week during the legislative session. In order to serve, you must be between 14-16 years old and must be sponsored by your senator or representative.
Pages spend two hours a day in Page School, learning about state government, and the rest of the day working on the House or Senate floor, delivering materials and messages around campus, presenting the colors at the opening of the day’s session, and assisting offices.
Applications to be a Senate page will reopen on November 1, 2020. The House application date is not listed specifically, but states that the process will open in the Fall. Pages receive a stipend of $35 per day and may be eligible for financial assistance via a scholarship. If you live too far away to commute, the House and Senate page programs keep lists of local families who are willing to host pages for the week. For $125-$175, your teen will be fed breakfast and lunch and will have transportation to and from the capitol each day.
Pages are provided with blazers to wear during the week and must wear white shirts/blouses, black pants (skirts are not allowed in the Senate), black socks and shoes, and a black tie for boys.
Legislators, legislative staff, lobbyists, and members of congress first dipped their toes into the political process as pages.
Check out this video to learn more.
