Two high schoolers are pressing Beacon Hill on climate bills they wrote in class

“At the center of all this work has been one consistent belief,” Eskel said. “Young people and the general public as a whole are absolutely capable of contributing meaningful ideas, policy, and helping shape the future of their communities.”

Patrick McGravey taught Eskel and FloresQuero Llamas civics in eighth grade. His class was part of a statewide civics initiative established more than seven years ago under legislation signed by former Governor Charlie Baker. The law requires students to complete civics projects and encourages hands-on public policy engagement with the goal of enabling youth to become informed participants in government.

The course is meant to help students understand how they can enter the civic process, said McGravey, who was one of the 60 Commonwealth educators working with the Democratic Knowledge Project, an education initiative based at Harvard University, on piloting a civics curriculum and professional development for K-12 districts.

McGravey’s class has produced several civic initiatives over the years. In 2023, seven students, including Eskel and FloresQuero Llamas, petitioned at a North Andover town meeting to approve a measure acknowledging the historical mistreatment of William Symmes Jr. As a delegate to the 1788 Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, Symmes faced backlash and was forced to leave Andover after supporting the ratification of the US Constitution.

That experience, the teacher said, helped students gain confidence in their own student-led civics projects.

McGravey said that while most students in the class wanted to organize projects to raise awareness on local issues within their community, Eskel and FloresQuero Llamas chose to pursue decisive policy change.

They began by writing a proposal for renewable energy tax incentives. When an initial proposal had been drafted, they asked McGravey to connect them with state Senator Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican who had been involved in the legislation behind the civics requirement.

“In the very first conversation, I agreed with the overall purpose of what they were proposing,” Tarr said.

During the initial talk, Eskel and FloresQuero Llamas were encouraged by Tarr to look deeper into grid battery storage. The two spent months researching the technology, then drafted their second legislative proposal.

They quickly learned how intensive and sluggish the legislative process can be.

Eskel and FloresQuero Llamas persevered through delays and hurdles, including when one point of contact went on medical leave. Eventually, Tarr sat down with them and agreed to work through their proposals.

“There’s a lot of districts where teachers reach out to local and state reps, and they don’t get anything back,” McGravey said. “But that’s not been the case. I’ve seen a number of kids make real change like Mariah and Sofia.”

Tarr said the students’ proposals needed refinement before they could be filed as legislation.

As a result, the trio worked together to improve Eskel and FloresQuero Llamas’s drafts of the two bills.

The grid battery storage innovation bill was sponsored and filed in the Senate by Tarr, with the students testifying virtually before the State House in favor of the bill. The other was filed under the students’ sole sponsorship.

“We wanted to give them the chance to speak directly to the Legislature, and that’s exactly what we did by filing both of the bills,” Tarr said.

Under the grid battery storage innovation bill, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is expected to conduct a study in partnership with higher education institutions on battery technologies capable of increasing cost-efficient electricity to offer the state a cheaper power supply.

The bill was approved by the Joint Committee of Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy. The Senate Committee on Ways and Means will hear it next, Tarr said.

The other bill, on commercial renewable investments, aims to create a tax credit for Massachusetts companies that invest in renewable energy technologies, Eskel said.

The act was sent to the Joint Committee on Revenue, which will decide whether or not to move it forward later this month.

Eskel and FloresQuero Llamas, now 17 and rising seniors at North Andover High School and Groton School, respectively, say they’re just getting started.

The duo is plotting their next initiative, dubbed Young Leaders in Politics Day, with members of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s Cabinet, staff from Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office, and other academic leaders.

“The broader goal is to create a visible platform that recognizes the growing role of young people in shaping policy and encouraging more civic engagement,” FloresQuero Llamas said.

Eskel said she is considering a future career as a politician and wants to run for president of the United States.

“Age doesn’t have to be a barrier to public policy,” Eskel said. “The ability to contribute meaningful ideas isn’t limited by your title or your experience; it just begins with having the skills and being willing to learn and ask questions and stay persistent and just care enough to take that action.”

FloresQuero Llamas, meanwhile, dreams of becoming a doctor but wants civics to remain part of her education.

“There’s still so many years ahead,” FloresQuero Llamas said. “I’m really excited to see where college can take both of us, because I think we can definitely accomplish so much more than we have already.”

Thai Theodoro can be reached at thai.theorodo@globe.com.