American Institute for Civic Leadership (AICL)

 FROM THE CLASSROOM TO WASHINGTON — AND BEYOND

What if a student’s idea could travel from a classroom to the halls of government?

What if we celebrated young Americans not for their political opinions, but for their ability to think critically, research problems, and develop meaningful solutions?

That’s what the American Institute for Civic Leadership (AICL) is building.

Our Civic Innovation Competition gives middle and high school students an opportunity to move beyond simply learning how government works and begin putting that knowledge into practice.

Students identify real problems, research evidence, consider competing perspectives, examine constitutional principles, and develop their own public-policy solutions.

But this is much more than a competition.

It’s part of our effort to build a LIVING CIVIC EDUCATION SYSTEM where students learn, interact, create, compete, earn recognition, and experience real-world civic participation.

EVERY STUDENT. EVERY IDEA. A FAIR OPPORTUNITY.

Great ideas don’t require political connections, expensive technology, or advanced technical skills.

Students can develop their ideas through traditional research, writing, digital tools, or responsible AI-assisted technology.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS NOT REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE.

Federal Policy Producer is an optional civic technology platform designed to help students transform their ideas into structured legislation and explore constitutional and governmental considerations.

Students remain responsible for their own ideas, research, reasoning, decisions, and final proposals.

All official competition entries must be submitted electronically through AICL’s designated competition email process, which connects to our competition management and AI-assisted evaluation system.

The system is designed to support consistent, transparent evaluation through independent AI-assisted assessments and human oversight, with final scholarship selections determined through human review.

Students may use handwritten notes while developing their ideas, but handwritten entries are not accepted as final submissions.

Official submission instructions, deadlines, policy categories, and judging rubrics will be published before entries open.

The competition is nonpartisan. Students are evaluated on the quality of their thinking and solutions—not political affiliation, ideology, or whether they used artificial intelligence.

TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO THINK — NOT WHAT TO THINK.

TWO DIVISIONS. TWO SCHOLARSHIPS. A CELEBRATION OF STUDENT INNOVATION.

The founding Bossier Parish competition will recognize two overall winners:

MIDDLE SCHOOL CIVIC INNOVATION WINNER

$1,000 SCHOLARSHIP

HIGH SCHOOL CIVIC INNOVATION WINNER

$1,000 SCHOLARSHIP

Outstanding proposals will also receive Category Honorable Mention recognition.

After the two scholarship winners are selected, one Honorable Mention will be chosen from each remaining policy category, with Middle School and High School submissions considered together.

If the competition includes 12 policy categories, this would produce 10 or 11 Category Honorable Mentions, depending on whether the scholarship winners represent different categories or the same category.

As sponsorships and funding grow, our goal is to increase scholarship amounts and expand opportunities for student recognition.

But we don’t want to simply announce the winners.

WE WANT TO CELEBRATE THEM.

A COMMUNITY CELEBRATION WORTH REMEMBERING

AICL is planning a major annual Civic Innovation Awards Celebration in Louisiana that brings students, families, educators, schools, community members, business leaders, and public officials together to celebrate student achievement.

Our goal is to make this a celebration that the broader community can participate in—not simply an invitation-only awards ceremony.

Imagine students walking across the stage to receive GIANT CEREMONIAL SCHOLARSHIP CHECKS.

Their families watching.

Their teachers being recognized.

Their schools celebrating.

And local, state, and federal officials, business and community leaders, members of the media, and neighbors coming together to recognize the accomplishments of young civic innovators.

Our goal is to create a welcoming, community-centered celebration where students, families, educators, and the public can come together to recognize outstanding young civic innovators.

The event will be designed to bring the community together, celebrate student achievement, and inspire greater participation in civic education.

Event location, attendance information, and additional details will be announced as plans are finalized.

As the competition expands, our long-term plan is to keep the annual celebration in Louisiana, eventually rotating between Bossier City, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge on a three-year cycle.

The celebration will grow alongside the competition, recognizing scholarship recipients and Category Honorable Mentions through presentations, announcements, official programs, and other appropriate forms of recognition.

This isn’t just about presenting awards.

It’s about bringing a community together to celebrate education, civic participation, and the achievements of its young people.

THE JOURNEY DOESN’T END AT THE CEREMONY.

FROM THE CLASSROOM TO WASHINGTON, D.C.

EVERY YEAR, THE STRONGEST STUDENT IDEAS WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL BEYOND THE CLASSROOM.

As an ongoing part of the Civic Innovation Competition, AICL intends to assemble qualifying student-generated legislative proposals into an annual Civic Innovation Legislative Portfolio.

Each year, AICL founder Matt Davis intends to personally travel to Washington, D.C., and hand-deliver the qualifying federal legislative proposals, organized into legislative policy packets, to appropriate congressional offices.

AND STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO WATCH THE JOURNEY.

The annual Washington delivery will be FILMED so students, parents, educators, and communities can follow the proposals from the classroom to the United States Capitol and congressional offices.

Students will see the process unfold beyond the classroom—not simply hear that their work was submitted.

They will see their ideas organized into legislative packets, carried to Washington, and presented to the offices of elected representatives.

FROM IDENTIFYING A PROBLEM.

TO RESEARCHING A SOLUTION.

TO DEVELOPING STUDENT-GENERATED LEGISLATION.

TO EARNING RECOGNITION.

TO WATCHING THEIR IDEAS TRAVEL FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE CAPITOL.

WE’RE NOT SAYING WASHINGTON WILL AGREE.

We cannot promise that an elected official will support, sponsor, introduce, or enact a student’s legislative proposal.

That decision belongs to the people and institutions entrusted with the legislative process.

BUT SERIOUS STUDENT PROPOSALS DESERVE A SERIOUS PATHWAY — FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE CAPITOL.

A meaningful, transparent, and filmed pathway that gives exceptional student ideas an opportunity to reach the appropriate policymakers.

Because the purpose isn’t to guarantee a political outcome.

It’s to show young Americans that their ideas deserve to be developed thoughtfully, evaluated fairly, and given a meaningful opportunity to be heard.

A FUTURE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE WASHINGTON, D.C.

As the competition grows and funding permits, AICL hopes to create another extraordinary educational opportunity for scholarship-winning students and a legal guardian.

An opportunity to visit Washington, D.C., together.

Imagine students and their guardian exploring our nation’s historic landmarks, visiting museums and monuments, experiencing the institutions of American government, and learning firsthand about the constitutional foundations of the United States.

A journey that brings the history they’ve studied in the classroom to life.

Students and their legal guardians could also choose to accompany AICL founder Matt Davis during the annual delivery of the Civic Innovation Legislative Portfolio to congressional offices.

PARTICIPATION IN LEGISLATIVE DELIVERY WOULD BE ENTIRELY OPTIONAL.

The primary purpose of the trip would be civic education, historical exploration, and experiencing the nation’s capital together.

This is a future goal dependent on funding and planning, not a guaranteed scholarship benefit or travel award.

Regardless of whether students travel to Washington, AICL’s annual legislative delivery and filming initiative will remain a central part of the competition’s intended civic engagement pathway.

BOSSIER FIRST. LOUISIANA NEXT. THEN THE NATION.

Our national expansion begins with a real educational partnership and a practical plan.

2026–2027 — BOSSIER PARISH

Our founding partnership with Bossier Parish Schools establishes the first parish-wide Civic Innovation Competition, including Middle School and High School scholarships, Category Honorable Mentions, a major community awards celebration, and the beginning of our annual filmed legislative delivery initiative.

2027–2028 — LOUISIANA

Our next objective is to expand the competition across Louisiana, bringing opportunities for civic innovation, scholarships, recognition, and real-world participation to students throughout the state.

2028–2029 — NATIONAL EXPANSION BEGINS

From Louisiana, we intend to begin expanding into additional states, building toward a nationwide Civic Innovation Competition.

Our long-term goal is participation across all 50 states.

IMAGINE WHAT THAT COULD BECOME.

100 STATE SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS.

Two scholarship recipients per state—one Middle School and one High School winner.

500+ CATEGORY HONORABLE MENTIONS.

Outstanding student proposals recognized across policy categories throughout the country.

ONE MAJOR ANNUAL CIVIC INNOVATION AWARDS CELEBRATION IN LOUISIANA.

A national-scale celebration of student innovation, achievement, and civic leadership that brings communities together.

And every year, an opportunity for the legislative proposals to be delivered to the appropriate policymakers, including federal legislative packets personally carried to Congress.

As the program grows, scholarship amounts can increase with funding, recognition opportunities can expand, and the annual celebration can grow into a major national tradition.

Our long-term intention is to keep that celebration in Louisiana, rotating among Bossier City, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge every three years.

The celebration can recognize scholarship winners and Honorable Mentions through stage presentations, official announcements, displays, published recognition, and other appropriate formats as participation grows.

The goal is not to create separate national championships or require every recognized student to travel.

It is to build ONE nationwide competition with meaningful recognition, a major annual community celebration, and a continuing pathway for exceptional student ideas to reach government.

The ambition is significant, but the purpose is simple.

GIVE YOUNG AMERICANS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE.

REWARD EXCEPTIONAL THINKING.

CELEBRATE THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS.

AND HELP THEIR STRONGEST IDEAS REACH THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING PUBLIC POLICY.

MORE THAN A COMPETITION. A LIVING CIVIC EDUCATION SYSTEM.

The Civic Innovation Competition is part of AICL’s broader mission to build a living, interactive civic education system.

One that connects constitutional education, interactive classroom learning, critical thinking, responsible technology, student-created solutions, and meaningful civic participation.

A system that supports teachers, evolves through classroom feedback, and gives students opportunities to practice what they learn.

Our goal is not to create the next generation of politicians.

It’s to help develop the next generation of informed citizens, independent thinkers, innovators, problem-solvers, and civic leaders.

We want Louisiana to become a Southern Star for civic innovation—demonstrating what is possible when education, technology, community leadership, and student participation come together.

And we want that example to inspire schools and communities across America.

BECAUSE CITIZENSHIP ISN’T SIMPLY SOMETHING STUDENTS STUDY.

IT’S SOMETHING THEY PRACTICE.

EMPOWER STUDENTS. STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES. BUILD A BETTER FUTURE.

HUMANS CREATE. AI ENHANCES. HUMANS DECIDE.

LOUISIANA: A SOUTHERN STAR FOR CIVIC INNOVATION

Every national movement begins somewhere.

Ours begins at home.

Through our partnership with Bossier Parish Schools, Louisiana has an opportunity to demonstrate what the future of civic education can look like when students are given more than lessons about government—they are given meaningful opportunities to participate in it.

Bossier Parish can lead the way.

Louisiana can become the model.

Our vision is for Louisiana to become a Southern Star for civic innovation—a state that shows the country what is possible when constitutional literacy, critical thinking, responsible technology, student leadership, and real-world civic participation come together.

We want students across Louisiana asking:

What problem do I see?

What does the evidence tell me?

What does the Constitution allow?

What would someone who disagrees with me say?

What solution can I create?

And how can I make that solution better?

Then we want to give the strongest ideas somewhere to go.

From a classroom in Bossier Parish.

Across Louisiana.

And eventually, from classrooms across America.

The goal is not simply to build a competition.

It is to build a culture of civic innovation in which young Americans understand that self-government belongs to them too.

BOSSIER LEADS THE WAY.

LOUISIANA LIGHTS THE PATH.

AMERICA CAN FOLLOW.

FROM THE CLASSROOM TO WASHINGTON.

TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO THINK — NOT WHAT TO THINK.

HUMANS CREATE. AI ENHANCES. HUMANS DECIDE.