ROCHESTER N.Y.(WROC) — 40 high school students coming from several area high schools headed to the state capitol for advanced placement day. Their plan was to advocate for continued support for AP courses. 

They hope to urge lawmakers to maintain funding to cover AP exam fees for low-income students and to expand access to schools with few or no AP courses. The students will attend meetings with members of the local state delegation. 

“A lot of the stuff the school provides we actually need because, like I said earlier, we are trying to get out there and do something with our lives,” says Nevaeh Baxley. 

Diane Watkins, a high school history teacher from Edison Tech shares why this fight is necessary.

“These tests are very expensive, they run on $90-ish. Students are taking more than one AP course. So, to continue that funding to support these courses make sure students have access. It equalizes the playing field so that they can build their own academic communities and when they see all these students from New York maybe they’ll make some connections,” says Watkins.

Northeast College Prep student Nevaeh Baxley says she sees the outcome of this fight being nothing but positive

“I feel like it would make a huge impact on what students are doing now honestly, I think that a lot of us would love to get out there and just have an amazing school year, for our classes. We’re not just taking these for no reason, we want to get out there and build our education up more and more.”

Watkins says she is excited about this opportunity for her students and hopes it inspires them to continue to represent their generation.