Boys/Girls State is typically staffed by Legion Family members, past participants, and/or community leaders who volunteer their time and effort.
Some programs tend to have a more traditional education focus, providing speakers and training throughout the week and then concluding with mock political functions.
Other programs include creative and fun activities such as band, choir, talent shows, and athletic competition.
[6][7] With exceptions, including but not limited to California, male and female programs are held separately, but at least nine states—Georgia, Nebraska, Oregon, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine,[8] and Missouri—host Boys and Girls State on the same campus on the same week.
Although recruitment procedures vary, Boys/Girls State participants are often selected with the help of high school principals or guidance counselors.
[9] Because the hundreds of students at any given Boys/Girls State represent the top talent of that age year, being elected to a high office, such as governor, at the event can be an important distinguishing achievement for college or military academy admissions.
[10] Attendance at Boys State carries the same weight on a résumé as earning the distinction of Eagle Scout, especially when applying to US military schools and academies.
[11] Once there, students typically engage in a number of political activities such as running for office, electing officials, drafting and debating bills, and making motions.
Some programs, given their proximity to their state capital, make a field trip to visit and have a tour and meet their representatives, if they are present.
For example, New York Boys' State involves exposure to regimented military experiences, such as early-morning physical training and marching instruction provided by members of the US Marines.
[12] The creation of the Boys State program in 1935 is credited to Hayes Kennedy, an instructor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Americanism Chairman of the Illinois Department of the American Legion; and Harold Card, the Department Boy Scout chairman and junior high school instructor.
[13] Documentation provided by various Boys State programs across the country refer to these as "Young Pioneer Camps", and alternately describe them as either fascist- or communist-inspired.
Since the Young Pioneer Camps was the name of a youth program based in the Soviet Union that made inroads in the U.S. in the early 20th century, it is likely that these left-wing movements are what Kennedy was responding to, and not the growth of the radical right.
Kennedy felt that a counter movement must be started among the ranks of the nation's youth to stress the importance and value of a democratic form of government and maintain an effort to preserve and perpetuate it.
As this program succeeded and spread throughout the United States, the American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) began providing similar opportunities for girls of high school age.
A "sibling" film about Missouri Girls State was planned to be shot during 2020 but has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.