by Jan Goehring
Each summer, NCSL's Trust for Representative Democracy collects information about how many legislators participated in the America's Legislators Back to School Program the previous school year. The program encourages legislators to visit classrooms and bring civics to life for students all across the country. Each year an average of 1,200 state lawmakers are involved. The charts below show the top ten legislatures and chambers in 2008 - 09. Massachusetts and Utah tied for the state with the highest percentage of legislators participating. The Pennsylvania House and Louisiana and Massachusetts Senate chambers reached 100 percent involvement.
| Top Ten Legislatures | Percentage |
| Utah & Massachusetts | 94% |
| Virginia | 91% |
| Pennsylvania | 80% |
| Nebraska | 71% |
| Alaska | 60% |
| Hawaii | 58% |
| New Jersey | 57% |
| Mississippi | 54% |
| Nevada | 40% |
| Arizona | 37% |
| Top Ten House | Top Ten Senate |
| Pennsylvania - 100% | Louisiana & Massachusetts - 100% |
| Utah & Massachusetts - 93% | Utah - 97% |
| Virginia - 91% | Virginia - 93% |
| New Jersey - 64% | Nebraska - 71% |
| Hawaii - 61% | Nevada - 57% |
| Kentucky - 35% | Hawaii - 52% |
| Nevada - 31% | New Jersey & New Mexico - 43% |
| Washington - 29% | Oklahoma - 40% |
| Maryland - 26% | Wyoming - 33% |
| Wyoming - 25% | Michigan - 26% |
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