Who We Are

Formerly the Active Advocacy Coalition, The League of Student Advocates was created in 2015 as a partnership between The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis and St. Louis Graduates. Now a program of The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, the League is a member-based, statewide coalition of students advocating for student-centered policy. The League is entering its seventh year and continues to engage and empower students across the state of Missouri.

The League was born because students were not being heard, consulted, or considered when it came to decisions around financial aid, cost-of-attendance, or many of the important matters related to their own education. In the years since its founding, The League has held four annual conferences, trained over 300 students, and has had over 1,000 meetings with members of the Missouri Legislature and Congress.

Students are experts in the current system of higher education and the consequences of poor higher education policy. The League is committed to ensuring students are not only “included” in policy discussions, but that Black, Brown, undocumented, and low-income students are able to advance policies that support their education.

The League’s goal is to build a coalition of students that are able and ready to work for equity in higher education. Through budget analysis, policy research, storytelling, and mobilization, The League works to shift policies in favor of all students.