At the 2025 Department Convention, Evergreen Boys State was approved to conduct a two-year pilot program. During this pilot, both high school boys and girls will have the opportunity to attend the program together. The Department of California made a transition to this format in 2023, and we are using their example. Starting with the 2026 session, the program will be called Evergreen Boys and Girls State, or EBGS for short. At the end of the two years, we will evaluate the results and report back to the Department. A decision on whether to make the transition permanent will be made at that time.

We recognize that there are strong feelings on both sides of this change. We were somewhat surprised at some of the incorrect information that was being argued on the convention floor during the discussion of this transition, and would like to dispel some of it here:

1. This transition in no way eliminates the American Legion Auxiliary Program called Evergreen Girls State. Their program will continue in its current form with its current staffing and curriculum.
2. This transition is about giving young women the choice of what kind of leadership experience they want to participate in. Some young women feel more comfortable participating in mixed-gender groups than in all-female groups.
3. Both EBS and EGS have very good parts to their programs. But like with everything in life, both programs must actively seek out and make way for continuous improvements to their curricula.
4. FACT – Evergreen Boys State and Evergreen Girls State are NOT “equal” or “identical” programs. While the overall goal of both programs is the same, they have different staff and have developed unique curricula and teaching processes.
   • EBS is a 7-day, 6-night program at Warm Beach Conference Center. EGS is a 6-day, 5-night program at Central Washington University.
   • EBS annually awards five college scholarships, plus the Samsung Scholarship, at the close of our session. EGS awards one scholarship, plus the Samsung Scholarship. According to their website, they also offer a second scholarship that attendees must apply for in March of the following year.
   • It appears EGS annually elects its Girls Nation senators. At EBS, we select the Boys Nation senators via a staff nomination and interview process.
   • The EGS curriculum does NOT include city government; it skips straight to county government. The EBS program begins with the city as its primary building block, then expands to cover counties, and finally, the state government.
   • Although the total tuition for EGS is less than it is for EBS, the ALA Units are expected to pay more to sponsor each EGS delegate than the Legion Posts do for EBS delegates.
5. Every year, EBS and EGS are each allowed to select TWO individuals to go to the Boys/Girls Nation program. For 2025: TWO out of 71 for EBS, and TWO out of approx. 85 for EGS. It is an honor to be selected – not every participant is up to the challenge.
6. College and Service Academy applications generally ask if the applicant attended Boys/Girls STATE. Since only 100 Boys Nation and 100 Girls Nation delegates exist each year, most colleges combine the question with a broader “Boys/Girls State or Nation” field, rather than providing a separate checkbox.
7. The governor of EBS is NOT automatically sent to Boys Nation.
8. In the EBS program, we conduct a nomination and interview process to determine the two individuals most qualified to represent Washington State without regard to which office they may have been elected to.
   • Because of this, young women will never be barred from running for or holding any high office at EBGS.
9. EBS cannot send young women to Girls Nation – this is true. EGS cannot send young men to Boys Nation either.
   • What EBGS can do is (1) make it clear from the start that if a young woman has a goal of attending Girls Nation, they must apply for and attend EGS; and (2) look at restructuring our scholarships so the top two young women get a scholarship.
10. EGS does NOT directly award anyone college credits for attendance. The college credits are offered via a 3^rd party organization called “RTG & Associates”.
    • This isn’t as simple as “go to Girls State and automatically get college credits for it.”
    • Any student – male or female – who attends a Boys or Girls State program can visit their website, apply (and pay) for the credits, submit the required documentation, and then complete all the additional class assignments to obtain them.
    • Getting college credit is the student’s responsibility. Upon completion, students must order a transcript and then persuade their future college to accept the credits. The credits are usually labeled as lower-division electives. Selective universities often limit the number of elective or “experience-based” hours for which students can get credit.
    • A number of our EBS delegates are involved in Running Start and have taken many college classes already.
    • While EBS does not actively promote this program, this has NEVER prevented our alumni from taking advantage of it if they choose.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at office@evergreenboysstate.org, director@evergreenboysstate.org, or chairman@evergreenboysstate.org. We would be happy to discuss this with you in more detail.