My Story
My name is Jaden Jackson, and I am a student at Advanced Technologies Academy High School. I launched this youth council because I’ve seen how deeply public policy, especially education policy, but also healthcare, economic policy, and social policy shapes the everyday lives of young people. These issues have shaped my own experiences, and they impact students and families across Nevada in ways that are impossible to ignore.
Across the state, our school districts are facing major challenges. Budgets are tightening, staff are being surplussed, and access to specialized educational services such as speech, occupational, and social-emotional support remains limited. At the same time, students and families are navigating rising diagnoses of neurodevelopmental conditions, broader mental-health needs, and widening academic gaps. These are not just education issues; they intersect with public health policy, insurance and healthcare access, and workforce policy, all of which determine whether schools have the professionals and resources they need.
Another major concern is transparency. Decisions about school operations and student services often happen without clear communication. Families are left confused about sudden program changes, funding shifts, or staffing cuts issues that should be approached with openness and consistent community engagement. This connects directly to governance and public-administration policy, where stronger accountability systems and community-inclusive decision-making processes are urgently needed.
I’ve also seen how policies around retention, curriculum flexibility, and academic support affect students on an individual level. Many students are expected to fit into one standardized model of learning, even when they need more time or different forms of support. These challenges are deeply tied to special education policy, student-support policy, and even civil-rights policy, because equitable access to learning is fundamental to fairness.
These issues are personal to me. I experienced speech delays when I was younger. I learned to read quickly, but communicating was hard, but I made progress along the way. I also needed extra support during learning at school. It always felt like I couldn’t understand the content fast enough, and that I did need a tutor, but school districts in Nevada could not afford to provide complementary tutors. That experience made me realize how funding policy, teacher-workforce policy, and even broader economic decisions directly influence what support students actually receive.
Nevada consistently ranks near the bottom in academic performance and per-pupil funding. That gap doesn’t just show up in classrooms, it affects access to advanced coursework, mental-health care, extracurriculars, and safe, well-maintained campuses. These outcomes reflect broader state-budget policy, tax policy, and long-term investment planning, which play a major role in determining how much support schools and students ultimately get.
And yet, despite being the people directly affected, young people rarely have a meaningful platform to influence any of these policy decisions whether in education, health, economic opportunity, or community development.
That is why I started this council, and now serves as the chair of the education committee. The challenges I’ve experienced, and those facing students statewide, are exactly why this initiative is necessary. Young people deserve a voice in shaping the policies that define our education system, our wellbeing, and our future.