Members of Henrico County's Student Congress aren't just reading about government, says Superintendent Fred Morton IV. They're living it.

The Student Congress spent the past year researching, brainstorming and proposing changes to school curriculum, buildings and policies. On Thursday, the students presented ideas to Henrico's School Board, which will look into implementing the suggestions.

"I feel like everybody's opinion matters," said Alvin Hill, a junior at Highland Springs High School who serves as chairman of this year's congress. "The School Board doesn't see your age. They see your ideas, work and content."

The 150-member group was formed in 2004 as a pet project of Morton, who launched a similar group when he was superintendent in Montgomery County. It consists of 17 students from each high school, including the SCA president, class presidents and three at-large members from each grade.

"This is a very diverse group," Hill said. "It's not just the advanced students. We have GPAs from 2.0 to 4.6. Some of these students have had disciplinary problems. We're diverse in our culture, race and academic achievement."

Last year, Hill said, the congress was able to prompt changes in school security and lunch menus, among other issues in the 48,000-student school system.

"At the beginning of every year, we pick groups. We start out with about 40 topics we'd like to address," Hill said. This year, the 40 topics were pared down to seven, exploring subjects from going green in schools to computer textbooks.

Suggestions include: