BILL NUMBER: S9018A
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to permitting the desig-
nation of students as ex officio members of school boards; and to repeal
certain provisions of such law relating thereto
 
PURPOSE:
To require all school boards and BOCES to designate at least one ex-of-
ficio student member.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 3 of section 1702 of the education law to
require union free school districts that operate a high school to desig-
nate at least one student as an ex-officio member.
Section 2 repeals subdivision 3-a of section 1702 of the education law
which allows union free districts to submit to the voters a referendum
every two years determining whether the district should have an ex-offi-
cio student member.
Section 3 amends subdivision 12 of section 1804 of the education law to
require central school districts to designate at least one student as an
ex-officio member.
Section 4 repeals subdivision 12-a of section 1804 of the education law
which allows central school districts to submit to the voters a referen-
dum every two years determining whether the district should have an
ex-officio student member.
Section 5 amends subdivision 2 of section 1901 of the education law to
require central high school districts to designate at least one student
as an ex-officio member.
Section 6 repeals subdivision 3 of section 1901 of the education law
which allows central high school districts to submit to the voters a
referendum every two years determining whether the district should have
an ex-officio student member.
Section 7 amends subdivision 10 of the section 2502 of the education law
to require small city school districts to designate at least one student
as an ex-officio member.
Section 8 repeals subdivision 10-a of section 2502 of the education law
which allows small city school districts to submit to the voters a
referendum every two years determining whether the district should have
an ex-officio student member.
Section 9 amends section 1950 of the education law by adding subdivision
2-c to require each BOCES supervisory district to establish a process
for selecting at least one student ex-officio member. Districts with
fewer than 10 component districts must have at least one student member;
districts with between 10 and 20 must have two; districts with more than
20 must have at least three.
Section 10 amends section 2552 of the education law to clarify that
student ex-officio members for Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers
shall not count toward the required numbers of school board members.
Section 11 amends section 2553 of the education law by adding two new
subdivisions, 1-a, and 11 to require Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and
Yonkers to designate a least one student ex-officio member on their
school boards.
Section 12 sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
There has been growing recognition across the country of the value of
including students' voices on school boards and providing other forums
for student input in educational policy, at both the local and state
level. Massachusetts, for example, has local student advisory committees
in each city, town, and regional school district. These committees
select a student to serve as an ex-officio member directly on their
school committee.{1} New Jersey has a state-wide student representative
who serves on the State Board of Education.{2}
Participating in school board meetings -- whether as an attendee or a
designated ex-officio member -- provides an opportunity for young New
Yorkers to build skills and habits of civic engagement. And it gives
them a voice in the policy and operation of their schools. Students
have valuable perspectives and insight about their schools that deserve
to be heard and considered.
Current state law allows school boards in many districts to seek
approval from voters in their district via a referendum to add an ex-of-
ficio student member to their board. This process has proved onerous. In
practice, many districts have opted to include informal student partic-
ipation on their school boards without seeking approval from their
voters. New York City also provides opportunities for students to serve
on Citywide Education Councils and Community Education Councils as non-
voting members. Section 2590-b of the Education Law requires one student
member, a current high senior, be appointed to the Citywide Councils on
Special Education, English Language Learners, High Schools, and District
75.
This legislation would require Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonk-
ers, and all Union Free School Districts, Central School Districts,
Central High School Districts, Small City School Districts, and BOCES to
designate at least one ex-officio student member on their school board.
The student members would be non-voting, but would be entitled to sit
with the board at all public meetings and hearings. The legislation
would simplify existing state law by removing the requirement that
districts seek voter approval to appoint an ex-officio student member
and the requirement that the student member be a high school senior.
Instead, the legislation would require that the student shall have
attended the high school for at least one year.
For BOCES, the supervisory district would be required to establish a
mechanism to choose the student ex-officio member or members in such a
way that provides for fair representation across the component
districts. The minimum number of members would be determined by the
total number of component districts.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date
on which it shall become a law.
{1} Section 38M of Chapter 71 of the Massachusset's General Law
{2} Subchapter 6 of the New Jersey Board of Education Bylaws

Statutes affected:
S9018: 1702 education law, 1702(3) education law, 1702(3-a) education law, 1804 education law, 1804(12) education law, 1804(12-a) education law, 1901 education law, 1901(2) education law, 1901(3) education law, 2502 education law, 2502(10) education law, 2502(10-a) education law, 1950 education law, 2552 education law, 2553 education law
S9018A: 1702 education law, 1702(3) education law, 1702(3-a) education law, 1804 education law, 1804(12) education law, 1804(12-a) education law, 1901 education law, 1901(2) education law, 1901(3) education law, 2502 education law, 2502(10) education law, 2502(10-a) education law, 1950 education law, 2552 education law, 2553 education law