Broward County Students Bring Youth Voices to Florida's Capitol in Annual Civic Journey

The "Rally to the Tally for New Floridians," an eleven-year-old civic education initiative run by Broward County Public Schools in partnership with the Close Up Foundation, annually brings hundreds of middle and high school students from immigrant and English language learner communities on a multi-day immersive experience in Florida's state government. The program moves students from observation into active participation, culminating in direct meetings with state legislators and the presentation of a student-developed Youth Legislative Agenda — an experience that positions young people as civic actors rather than passive observers. By pairing government access with higher education exposure, the initiative connects civic participation to broader opportunity and belonging for communities that are often underrepresented in democratic spaces. This program exemplifies the equity-centered, youth-focused civic engagement that NCDD's network works to foster and expand across the country.

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Every spring, hundreds of students from across Broward County Public Schools make a journey that stretches far beyond the miles between South Florida and Tallahassee. Now in its eleventh year, the "Rally to the Tally for New Floridians" program sends middle and high school students from 22 schools to Florida's state capital for a multi-day immersion in the workings of democratic government. Organized by the district's Bilingual/ESOL Department in partnership with the Close Up Foundation and funded through Title III, Part A, the program is designed specifically with immigrant and English language learner communities in mind — young people for whom the structures of American civic life are genuinely new, and for whom a hands-on encounter with government can be genuinely transformative.

The experience is structured to move students from observation into participation. In Tallahassee, participants tour the Florida Supreme Court and State Capitol, meet directly with members of the Florida House and Senate, and — most significantly — present proposals from their own Youth Legislative Agenda to sitting lawmakers. That last element elevates the program beyond a field trip into something closer to genuine civic engagement: students arriving not just to observe power, but to speak to it. The itinerary also includes visits to the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida, connecting civic participation to longer-term educational pathways and aspirations. For many participants, the trip represents their first extended travel experience, their first encounter with state government, and their first opportunity to see themselves as actors — rather than subjects — in the democratic process.

​The Rally to the Tally model embodies several of the core commitments that animate the NCDD network: centering communities that are too often excluded from civic spaces, building the skills and confidence that sustained democratic participation requires, and creating structured opportunities for young people to engage across cultural and linguistic differences with the institutions that shape their lives. At a moment when youth civic engagement and immigrant inclusion are both under pressure, programs like this one demonstrate what it looks like to invest in democratic belonging from the ground up. The NCDD community is encouraged to follow and share this story as an example of civic education that is equitable, experiential, and genuinely empowering. Read the full story from WPLG Local 10 at https://www.local10.com/news/local/2026/05/04/hundreds-of-broward-students-head-to-tallahassee-for-rally-to-the-tally-civic-experience/