--- title: HR 1216. The Youth Civic Advisory Board; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1216 cite_as: HR 1216, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1216 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1216.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1216/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72808 date: 2026-02-03 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1215.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1217.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1216.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1216 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-02-03 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Kim Schofield - Sandra Scott - Viola Davis - Rhonda Burnough text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1216/2025 upstream_id: 2106654 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - youth civic engagement - College Park - legislative commendation - community advocacy --- # HR 1216. The Youth Civic Advisory Board; commend ## Text House Resolution 1216 By: Representatives Schofield of the 63rd, Scott of the 76th, Davis of the 87th, and Burnough of the 77th A RESOLUTION Recognizing The Youth Civic Advisory Board; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, The Youth Civic Advisory Board (YCAB) was established by Dr. Jamelle McKenzie in partnership with veteran educator Eleanor Willis, who serves as Dean of Students, to elevate the voices of young people in College Park and ensure that youth perspectives are meaningfully incorporated into community decision-making; and WHEREAS, YCAB's foundation and continued success are strengthened through the leadership and guidance of Dean Willis, whose instruction and activities emphasize critical thinking, problem-solving, and public speaking; and WHEREAS, these skill-building experiences have empowered student leaders with the confidence and tools needed to thoughtfully approach, analyze, and advocate for local issues and community concerns; and WHEREAS, a central role of YCAB is to provide youth-centered insight and recommendations to Dr. Jamelle McKenzie, ensuring that young people's perspectives help inform policy discussions, programming, and community priorities; and WHEREAS, this advisement relationship reinforces the values of listening to youth voices and intentionally integrating them into leadership and decision-making processes; and WHEREAS, YCAB board members engage in advocacy presentations before the City Council, community service initiatives, government related field trips, and interactive workshops with elected officials and community leaders; and WHEREAS, these experiences help cultivate informed, engaged, and socially conscious young leaders who are prepared to contribute thoughtfully to their community; and WHEREAS, YCAB's current initiative focuses on addressing the unhoused in College Park through compassion, awareness, and action; and WHEREAS, through this initiative, YCAB continues to model youth-led civic engagement rooted in empathy, service, and meaningful impact. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body recognize the Youth Civic Advisory Board for its unwavering dedication to educating, empowering, and uplifting the voices young leaders. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to The Youth Civic Advisory Board. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution formally commends the Youth Civic Advisory Board in College Park for its work training young people in civic engagement and community advocacy. ### Plain-language summary This resolution does not change any Georgia law. It is a ceremonial statement from the House of Representatives recognizing the Youth Civic Advisory Board (YCAB), a College Park program founded by Dr. Jamelle McKenzie with educator Eleanor Willis, for teaching young people critical thinking, public speaking, and civic advocacy skills. The resolution describes YCAB's activities, including advocacy presentations to the City Council, community service projects, government field trips, and workshops with elected officials, as well as its current initiative addressing homelessness in College Park. The House resolves to recognize YCAB for its work empowering young leaders, and directs the Clerk of the House to prepare a copy of the resolution for distribution to the organization. ### What it does - Formally recognizes the Youth Civic Advisory Board for its work educating and empowering young civic leaders in College Park. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare and distribute a copy of the resolution to the organization. - Creates no new law, funding, or regulatory requirement; it is a commendation only. ### Who it affects The Youth Civic Advisory Board, its founder Dr. Jamelle McKenzie, Dean of Students Eleanor Willis, and the youth board members in College Park who participate in the program are named and honored by this resolution. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal or funding consequences. Its practical effect is symbolic: it gives official recognition from the Georgia House of Representatives to a local youth civic engagement program and its leaders in College Park. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses describe YCAB's founding, mission, and activities, including City Council advocacy and a current initiative on homelessness in College Park. - The resolving clause states the House recognizes YCAB for educating, empowering, and uplifting young leaders. - A further resolving clause directs the Clerk of the House to make a copy available for distribution to YCAB. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-02-03) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2026-02-03) - Sponsors: Kim Schofield, Sandra Scott, Viola Davis, Rhonda Burnough - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72808 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1216.md?full=1