Every year the Indiana General Assembly invites more than 1,700 sixth-through 12th grade students to participate in their Page Program.
Pages take a tour of the state house, handle age-appropriate tasks for their legislator, spend time with their state rep or senator directly and observe sessions from the house or senate floor.
Program Director Heather Gallagher said students often come with questions for their legislators and even ask them to explain a recent vote.
“They are their constituents, even though they're not old enough to vote yet. They're old enough to have an opinion,” Gallagher said. “And so I encourage them, you know, to get involved at the local level and have their voice be heard.”
Topics like Indiana’s abortion law have been discussed between a state legislator and their page.
The bulk of the students are from central Indiana because it’s easier for parents to drive their students to Indy for the one-day program. The day starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends mid-afternoon.
Applications for 2025 are now open, and Gallagher would like to see more students from outside of central Indiana to apply.
“They have the opportunity to be represented and be on the floor and meet their legislators,” she said. “It's not unusual for legislators to not even have a page during session because they just live so far away.”
Small far-flung towns have in the past banded together to fund a trip for all graduating seniors to the statehouse.
She said spots are already filling up. The application is accepted via the Indiana State Republican or Indiana State Democrat websites.
