New York Middle School

2026 Middle School Manual

Middle School Conference, November 22 to 24, 2026, at The Desmond Hotel and the New York State Capitol in Albany.

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New York YMCA Youth and Government

New York Youth and Government (YAG) is a three-day experiential learning conference in which students take part directly in a simulation of the state's democratic process. Acting as Senators and Assembly Members, students write, debate and vote on legislation that affects them. Officers elected by students serve as Governor, Speaker of the Assembly and President of the Senate. Throughout the process, students are supported by YMCA professionals, teachers, advisors, alumni, parents and volunteers.

YAG gives students the chance to learn about a wide range of issues, build critical thinking skills, and state their beliefs while engaging constructively with people who hold both similar and opposing views. YMCA Youth and Government is a national program that promotes civic literacy and community service.

Use of the Capitol Building

Using the Capitol and its rooms is a privilege we are excited to offer, but it is never guaranteed. Because of safety protocols, travel and other factors, the Capitol day may be canceled at any point, and the conference will continue at the hotel. This is never our goal, but it is a possibility.

Key Dates and Fees

Fees cover all conference costs, two hotel nights and five meals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can take part? Students in grades 6 to 8. Fifth graders are welcome too; if the registration form does not list their grade, choose 6th and email us so we can fix it.

Adult leadership. At least one adult must accompany every fifteen (15) students in a delegation. Adults must be registered participants, stay with their delegation, make sure students follow the Code of Conduct, and help run the program. Parents may chaperone only if they are registered; parents who are not registered should not come to the hotel.

Registration. Every student and every adult completes their own Registration form. Registration comes first, because the bill and rooming forms pull names from it. Links to every form are in your delegation's conference email and on the New York page.

Rooming. Submit one Rooming form per hotel room. If a student is the only boy or girl from your school, we will pair them with a student from another school at no extra cost.

Payment. Pay by check, credit card or purchase order. Make checks payable to New York State YMCA Foundation, write your invoice number on the check, and mail to YMCA Youth and Government, 465 New Karner Road, Albany, NY 12205. Credit cards are paid through the invoice link (about a 3% fee). Written confirmation of a purchase order from an administrator holds your registration. Please do not bring payment to the conference. Details are on the Aid and Payment page.

Refunds. Conference fees are non-refundable, including when a student is sick or cannot attend. Delegations may send a replacement.

Financial aid. The YMCA offers need-based aid so every student has the chance to take part. Aid covers the student fee; chaperone fees are not covered. No student is turned away for financial reasons. Apply by October 31.

Permissions. The registration form asks families to choose Yes or No on photo and media use, and lets families opt out of the program survey (Hello Insight).

Can students use AI? For research, yes. AI cannot write a bill or a speech, and students need to understand and defend their own positions.

Missed a deadline? Email us before assuming it is too late. We will work with you.

How Do We Get Started?

The program is designed to give students in grades 6 to 8 a basic understanding of their state legislature. Every group is different, and Y staff will work with you on a plan that fits, but the process falls into three steps. Each can be its own meeting, and if you start at the beginning of the school year, each lines up with a month before the conference:

• Step 1: Choose Your Group (September)
• Step 2: Write Your Bills (October)
• Step 3: Prepare Your Team (November)

We have scripts and materials for each meeting, and Y staff are happy to come help lead them.

Interest Meeting

Once you have decided whom to invite, many groups hold a meeting to explain the program and encourage students to take part. A Y staff member is glad to speak at it or help you prepare.

Bill Writing Workshop

A session that walks students through writing a bill from start to finish. Y staff can lead it, and the bill template and materials are in the Bill Writing Toolkit on the New York page.

Parliamentary Procedure and Debate Training

Once bills and registration are in, focus on preparing for the conference itself: parliamentary procedure, speech writing and public speaking.

Step 1: Choosing Your Group

Every group needs an adult leader, called the Advisor. If you are reading this, you are likely the Advisor or thinking about it. Thank you. Advisors are the reason this program exists.

Picking the Group

How you choose students is up to you and your school. There is no ideal student for YAG, but students interested in public policy, mock trial, government, debate, law, media, journalism and current events, or who simply like meeting people, are a great place to start. Some schools open it to everyone, some teach it as an elective, and some use it for student council or gifted programs. First-year groups often hand pick a few students as a trial.

Group Size

There is no required size. Groups as large as 150 and as small as 1 have done well. Travel and the required adult for every 15 students are the main things to plan around. Most important is that the Advisor is comfortable with the group.

Intent Form

The Intent Form reserves space for your delegation. Give your best estimate of how many students and adults you expect; no names are needed, and you can change the number later. It is due October 2. Groups may attend without it, but space is not guaranteed.

Research Challenge

Once students are identified, challenge them to start thinking about what they want to write a bill about, and to bring ideas to the next meeting, where they will choose partners and topics.

Step 2: Writing Your Bills

Writing and presenting a bill is one of the most important parts of the program. Every student should help draft and prepare the team presenting each bill.

Bill Sponsor Teams

Students write bills in groups of 3 to 5 sponsors. Each delegation may bring 1 bill, plus 1 more for every 8 students (or portion of 8) it brings: 1 to 8 students may bring one bill, 9 to 16 students two bills, 17 to 24 students three bills, and so on. The State Director can make exceptions, but limiting bills lets every bill be heard at the Capitol. There is no disadvantage to a student who is not a sponsor.

Every student is assigned to the Senate or the Assembly after registration, and sponsors are always placed with their fellow sponsors.

Bills are not expected to be long or tedious. The first goal is helping students understand their rights and duties as citizens and the value of healthy, respectful debate.

Bill Ideas

Students should write about things they care about and talk with adults they know about ideas. Current New York laws can be searched at nysenate.gov/legislation. A topic proposed in a past year can be written on again, as long as students do their own research and work.

Practice Debates

Practice debates on each other's bills help students anticipate arguments for and against their ideas.

Bill Submission

Submit one Bill form per bill by October 31, 2026. The bill template and a sample bill book are in the Bill Writing Toolkit on the New York page.

Bill Presentation

Every bill follows the same debate process. Sponsors have 4 minutes in total to divide between an opening speech and a summation. After the opening there is a 2-minute period for technical, fact-based questions, followed by alternating speeches for and against. Debate closes with the sponsors' summation, then a vote.

How a Bill Becomes Law at the Assembly

• Delegations choose topics for bills.
• Delegates research, draft and document their bills.
• Bills are assigned to a committee.
• Bill books are printed and given to each delegate.
• Committees of the Assembly and Senate hear the bills; all bills advance.
• Each bill is considered on the floor of the Assembly or Senate. A passed bill goes to the Youth Governor; a defeated bill is no longer considered.
• The Governor signs the bill into law or vetoes it. A two-thirds majority can override a veto after all other bills have been considered.

Step 3: Preparing Your Team

Once bills are submitted, turn to debate. Every bill will be presented, and when students are not presenting their own, they debate others' bills. Debate should be respectful and sincere, and it is also a chance for students to see the power of their own voice.

Success at the conference is not only about debate. Students should learn how to use the bill book and read the schedule, and should make a point of meeting students from other schools.

Parliamentary Procedure and Debate

Students must follow parliamentary procedure: being recognized to speak, addressing the chair, and a few other details. Y staff are happy to share our debate guidelines or run a workshop with your students.

Bill Book

Every participant receives a bill book at check-in with the schedule, maps, every bill to be presented and other key information. Students should keep it with them unless told otherwise.

Student Roles

Assembly Members and Senators. Every student serves as a Senator or Assembly Member, assigned by the conference based on need. Some students also serve in a specialized role.

Bill Sponsor. Students chosen by their group to prepare and present a bill, in teams of 3 to 5.

Candidate. Each delegation may run one candidate for office (see Candidates and Elections).

Committee Chair. Each delegation may appoint one student, preferably an 8th grader, to chair or co-chair a committee. Chairs receive training on the first night and materials before the conference.

Parliamentarian. Each delegation may nominate one student to serve as a clerk or doorkeeper alongside a presiding officer. They keep time, read bill titles and help keep order, and may still debate. They need a watch or phone stopwatch and a working knowledge of parliamentary procedure.

Candidates and Elections

New York Youth and Government is student led, and officers for the following year are chosen by election. The three top vote getters serve one-year terms as Governor, Speaker of the Assembly and President of the Senate.

• Each delegation may run one candidate, a 7th grader, who will serve during the following year and attend next year's conference as an officer.
• Candidates must submit the Candidate form by November 23, 2026 at 6:00 p.m., with the commitment of the candidate, a parent or guardian, and the advisor.
• Candidates and officers must be in good standing with their school.
• Campaigns may not hand out or create items to promote a candidate, and may not use social media or internet posts. Campaigning is in person and through the candidate's speech only.
• Each candidate runs on an issue-based platform covering three issues: one tied to their community service interests, one affecting their local community, and one affecting the State of New York as a whole.
• Each candidate has two minutes to speak on the final morning, at least one minute of it on their platform. No props, including people as props.
• Speeches must be approved by YMCA staff at the opening meeting.
• In debate, only a candidate may identify as one, for example: "Jordan Lee, candidate from Example Middle School, Madam Chair." Other members of the delegation may not mention their candidate when addressing the chair.

A first violation of these guidelines brings a warning. A second may cost the delegation its vote for that office and may disqualify the candidate, at the discretion of the New York YMCA Youth and Government Director.

Awards and Recognitions

Awards are presented on the final morning, based on advisor and volunteer nominations and Y staff observation.

Delegation of Excellence: every delegation that excels in the areas it chooses, meets all requirements (on-time, complete registration, full caucus participation, on-time nominations) and has no major disciplinary issues.

Outstanding Delegation: the Delegation of Excellence with the highest quality of participation, preparation and behavior that reflects the Y's four core values.

Outstanding Statesmanship: the Delegation of Excellence nominated by advisors for the highest overall quality of debate.

Outstanding Bill Packet: the delegation whose bills show the best preparation, presentation and relevance.

Outstanding Bills: the sponsors of the most innovative, well-researched and thought-provoking bills.

Outstanding Speakers and Outstanding Delegates: the delegates most often nominated by advisors and Y staff for their work in committees and chambers and behavior that reflects the four core values.

Advisor award nominations close November 23, 2026 at 9:00 p.m.

Advisors

New York YMCA Youth and Government could not run without our advisors. They are coaches, mentors and teachers, and they are essential to a smooth conference. Advisors are responsible for registration and for supervising their delegation at the conference.

Before the Conference

• Submit the Intent Form by October 2.
• Make sure every student and adult is registered, and bills and rooming are in, by October 31.
• Pay by November 11.
• Review the dress code in the Student Code of Conduct with your students.

Need a Change?

Submitted forms cannot be edited, so please do not resubmit a form to fix it. Email dcaldwell@ymcanys.org with your delegation name, the person's name and what needs to change. The same goes for adding or swapping an advisor or needing more time on a deadline.

At the Conference

• New Advisor Orientation is required for first-time advisors: where we need you and when, what we need from you, and a reachable cell number for at least one advisor per delegation.
• All Advisor Meeting: first-time advisors are paired with experienced mentors and conference changes are shared. Students are supervised at New Delegate Orientation during this time.

Advisor Responsibilities

• Keep participants on the conference schedule at all times.
• Help keep meetings quiet for all participants, not only your own.
• Enforce the dress code.
• Make sure participants know which bus to ride to and from the Capitol.
• You may collect phones used during meetings; give them to Y staff to return after the meeting or at the end of the conference.
• Help during free time as dance monitors, hall patrol and similar roles.
• Know where your participants are at all times.
• Please stay off computers, phones and headphones and avoid loud talk while sessions are running. Advisors set the tone.

Student Incidents and Exceptions

Arriving late: tell Y staff at check-in and again when the participant arrives. Leaving early: travel plans must be cleared with the advisor and Y staff, and a parent or guardian must check the participant out in person with the advisor and Y staff and show a valid photo ID.

Behavior: if state or federal law is broken, Y staff will notify the parent or guardian and law enforcement, and the participant will be sent home. For Code of Conduct violations, advisors and Y staff may take action at their discretion, including calls home, a signed incident report, sending the participant home, or applying school policies.

Conference Schedule

All times are tentative and subject to change. Wear business casual on day 1, professional attire on day 2, and casual attire on the evening of day 2 and on day 3 (candidates and officers in professional attire). Name tags are always required.

Day 1: Sunday, November 22

Day 2: Monday, November 23

Day 3: Tuesday, November 24

Program information and the Bill Writing Toolkit: www.nysyag.org/new-york.html