{"id":18431,"date":"2026-02-04T10:09:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T20:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=18431"},"modified":"2026-02-25T15:10:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T01:10:56","slug":"2026-students-take-the-helm-at-secondary-student-conference-charting-hawaiis-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/2026-students-take-the-helm-at-secondary-student-conference-charting-hawaiis-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Students take the helm at Secondary Student Conference, charting Hawai\u2018i\u2019s future"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the State Capitol this week, Hawai\u2018i public school students stepped into roles often reserved for adults, debating legislation, drafting testimony and meeting directly with lawmakers on issues that affect their daily lives. For more than 165 student delegates from across the state, the experience was part of the Secondary Student Conference (SSC), a long-running civic leadership program that places student voice at the center of the policymaking process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in its sixth decade, SSC brings together middle and high school students from public schools statewide for an immersive, three day convening designed to teach civic engagement, leadership and advocacy. Through hands-on participation, students learn how laws are made, how to research and analyze bills, and how to effectively communicate their perspectives to decision makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s conference focused squarely on action. Guided by the theme E Ho\u02bbomau K\u0101kou<\/em> \u2014 Let us persevere together \u2014 delegates examined thousands of proposed bills, engaged in structured debate, and ultimately identified priority legislation related to student safety, transportation and mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rooted in the idea that no voyager crosses the ocean alone, the theme drew on the image of a canoe powered by many hands moving in rhythm toward a shared destination, a metaphor that came to life throughout the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Superintendent Keith Hayashi said the conference reinforces the importance of student voice in shaping Hawai\u2018i\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are our leaders of tomorrow,\u201d Hayashi told delegates. \u201cThis conference gives students the opportunity to discuss relevant issues, shape perspectives and advocate for meaningful change. I am uplifted knowing that you are the next generation of leaders in the state of Hawai\u2018i.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many students, the conference also demystified a process that can often feel intimidating or inaccessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomething that excites me about reading bills and writing testimony is that we get to see what our state is planning, and we actually get to be a part of the decision-making process,\u201d said Jacob Aquino, a freshman at Farrington High School. \u201cWe get to say what we want to say about the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mariella Wasserman, a senior at Hilo High School, said SSC gave her both the tools and confidence to bring civic engagement back to her campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a lot of students at my school who feel like their voice doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Wasserman said. \u201cI want to take back not only the skills I\u2019ve learned, but the sense of value I feel and share that with my school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that learning how to read legislation was especially impactful. \u201cUnless you come to a conference like this, you don\u2019t really learn how to read a bill. People don\u2019t realize that submitting testimony is something anyone can do, everyone has a say in what they want for our state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The message resonated with first-time attendees as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be shy,\u201d said Odell Brink, a freshman at Kahuku High School. \u201cIf you don\u2019t say what\u2019s on your mind, then it\u2019s not going to happen. Even though we\u2019re kids, we still have something to say. Everybody, no matter who you are or what background you come from, anything you say is valuable and can make change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremiah Jacinto, a senior at Henry Perrine Baldwin High School, said SSC affirmed his belief that students deserve a seat at the table when decisions affect their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wholeheartedly believe that students should be at the table,\u201d Jacinto said. \u201cAs I\u2019ve continued to be involved with the legislature, I\u2019ve learned that these people are willing to hear me out and that my lived experiences are more than enough to be credible testimony.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Lotus Yasuda, a senior at Waipahu High School and chairperson of the Hawai\u2018i State Student Council, the conference represents the power of collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis conference means everything to me,\u201d Yasuda said. \u201cMy passion is finding ways to bring student voice to life. When students work together, that\u2019s how change happens. It starts with observing what\u2019s happening in your community and choosing to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the conclusion of the conference, students identified three priority bills they felt would have the greatest impact on their lives and communities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HB2445<\/strong><\/a> – Relating to student safety. <\/strong>Requires the Department of Education to develop and implement a standardized emergency response plan governing immigration enforcement activity at or near public schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HB1780<\/strong><\/a> – Relating to student transportation.<\/strong> Requires the Department of Education to establish a student bus fare rate system including free bus passes for students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SB2222<\/strong><\/a> – Relating to mental health. <\/strong>Allows excused absences for students\u2019 mental or behavioral health and exempts those absences from compulsory attendance penalties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As delegates left the Capitol, many echoed the same message: student voice is not just welcomed, it is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStudents are here. Students are willing to participate and voice their concerns,\u201d Jacinto said. \u201cThe question isn\u2019t whether students care. It\u2019s whether we create systems that allow them to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After more than five decades, the Secondary Student Conference continues to do just that, one paddle stroke at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the State Capitol this week, Hawai\u2018i public school students stepped into roles often reserved for adults, debating legislation, drafting testimony and meeting directly with lawmakers on issues that affect their daily lives. For more than 165 student delegates from across the state, the experience was part of the Secondary Student Conference (SSC), a long-running […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":18434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"856,888,893,1022,1619,1622","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","wp_popup_display_lightbox":0,"wp_popup_suppress":"","wp_popup_trigger":"","wp_popup_trigger_amount":0,"wp_popup_disable_on_mobile":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":21,"label":"News"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-02-02-Secondary-Student-Conference-QLB-Group-Photo-with-Superintendent-P1030965-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Stanley Lee","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/author\/stanley-leek12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":308,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":308,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-18 07:37:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18541,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18431\/revisions\/18541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}