Your district’s student representative has been selected and arrives at your meeting armed with a backpack full of ideas and a voice, ready to champion the beliefs of students. They sit at the table where big decisions are made surrounding policies, budgets and programs — ready to offer their perspective.
But wait… what exactly is their role?
How do they make sure their ideas are heard? And what’s stopping them from turning the meeting into a debate over issues that are not relevant to the board’s work or role?
That’s where a solid policy provides necessary guidance and direction. A student representative policy, like all other board policies, is a playbook that sets the rules, defines the role and ensures that student voices make a meaningful impact without creating unnecessary distractions for the board and administration. A well-structured policy not only empowers student representatives but also ensures their contributions are significant and aligned with board goals.
So, how do you craft a policy that’s clear and works? One that turns a student representative from having “a seat at the table” into a powerful advocate for peers? Let’s dive in and break it down, so that your district can appropriately include your student representative, giving them a voice in the decisions that shape their education.
Policy Framework In New Jersey, inclusion of student representatives on boards of education is guided by N.J.S.A. 18A:12-1.3, a statute enacted in 2022 that mandates the participation of high school students in the governance process. This law establishes the legal basis for student involvement and shapes the framework within which school districts develop policy in this area.
The statute requires that all school boards serving students in grades 9–12 include at least one student representative at its meetings. This legal mandate eliminates ambiguity and provides a clear directive about whether districts can or should allow student representation.
The law outlines some basic parameters of the student representative’s non-voting role. Student representatives may attend all board meetings, with the exception of any discussions that are confidential; represent all public high school students within the district; present student proposals and concerns to the board for consideration; and keep fellow students informed about board business by providing a monthly report to the student council.
These basic statutory functions ensure all districts provide a minimum level of participation for student representatives, while ensuring that decision-making powers, and confidential information, remain with board members.
Policy development is, however, the area where boards can better define the role of the student representative and create a role and function that is unique and specific to local district needs and community preferences. Policy gives a board the opportunity to not only expand the role beyond what the law requires, but to also consider appropriate guardrails for student representative involvement on the board.
Objective Policy should begin by outlining the belief as to the purpose and importance of student representation. While we know from the law that the student representative is a required “role,” the policy may further clarify that by indicating that the district is committed to amplifying student voices, developing student leadership and/or promoting inclusive governance. Each board should consider what its goals are for the student representative and develop the policy accordingly.
Selection of Representative(s) The policy should include information on how student representatives are selected. The law requires that the student body may elect or appoint the student representative to the board. However, the process for selection is to be determined by the superintendent, who shall consider input provided by the student body.
Boards can consider adding details to this requirement, including defining who can serve, such as high school students in specific grades or those in good academic standing, along with clarifying the process for how the student body will elect or appoint the representative. Alternatively, boards may leave the selection process criteria to the superintendent and not specify details, allowing the superintendent to work through those details. Regardless, a well-defined process should ensure that the representation reflects the diversity of the student body.
Responsibilities of the Student Representative If your district has struggled with what the student representative should be doing at or before each meeting, to avoid confusion among administration, board members and even the student representative, it may be appropriate for the policy to be prescriptive and outline expectations. This is a local decision, and this level of detail may not suit the needs or desires of every district.
Some areas for development include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Attendance at board meetings: If there have been some concerns about representative attendance, a board could consider language that emphasizes the importance of regular attendance to ensure the representative remains informed on policy discussions, budget considerations and other decisions that could impact students. Punctuality is also important as it demonstrates commitment and professionalism.
- Active participation at board meetings: If your board is uncertain as to how the representative can be an active participant at your meetings, this may be a good area to develop policy language.
- Engagement in discussions: The representative may be expected to contribute relevant perspectives, particularly on issues that affect students, such as curriculum changes, school climate, extracurricular activities, or student related policy proposals. Their input should be based on feedback gathered from peers, surveys, or student council discussions. Boards can offer the representative an opportunity at each meeting to comment generally or may include them during full discussions as agenda items are deliberated. How that is implemented is a local decision; some districts benefit from using discretionary language here, so that they can be flexible through the years.
- Preparedness: The representative should be well prepared, having reviewed the agenda, minutes from previous meetings and any relevant documents to which the representative is entitled (i.e. nonconfidential). Active participation requires understanding the issues on the agenda and being ready to offer thoughtful insights.
- Listening and observing: Contributions are valuable, but participation involves listening, understanding various viewpoints, and observing the decision-making process. This helps the representative learn the governance process while contributing to the discussion.
- Reporting and advocacy: The representative should be responsible for reporting student concerns and advocating for the student body. This means presenting feedback and suggestions from peers in a structured manner that aligns with board priorities. The board may want to consider placing some suggestions/parameters on how the representative gathers information from a diverse cross-section of the student body.
- Collaboration with board members: Participating also involves building collaborative relationships, working together to ensure student interests are considered in board decisions. This may occur via the recommendations above, which can facilitate collecting and sharing information from students with the board.
Developing this section of policy will help ensure that the board, its administration and the students understand the role, expectations and the scope of representative contributions.
Rights and Privileges Though representatives serve as nonvoting members, your policy may detail some rights or privileges afforded to your representative. These may include access to agendas and materials (nonconfidential). The policy may also make it clear if the access is prior to the meeting, whether they have the opportunity to speak, and/or if your board intends to offer involvement in committees and/or committee meetings. Without voting rights, the student representative’s ability to influence stems from dialogue and involvement.
Support and Orientation Students stepping into this role may lack prior experience. For this reason, the policy may include the requirement that the board and/or its administration offer orientation, mentorship, or some training. This gives your representative the opportunity to become familiar with board procedures, meeting structure and/or district policies.
Reporting Out Your board may want to include how a student representative is expected to engage with their peers. There may be a requirement for the representative to host discussions, create and deliver surveys, or otherwise engage with students to gather input. Additionally, the representative may want to work with the superintendent to develop a process for providing regular updates to students through school announcements or newsletters, etc. This two-way communication ensures that the representative reflects the views of the student population.
Ethics, Expectations and Decorum Although student representatives should not be provided with confidential information, they may inevitably be part of discussions that require a level of discretion. Thus, the need for confidentiality must be emphasized with all student representatives.
Also important to note are the potential ethical considerations for student representatives. In 2018, the School Ethics Commission issued Advisory Opinion A06-18, which addresses concerns relative to situations where the representative has family who is employed by the board and/or the student is elected to the board.
Beyond the need for ensuring confidentiality and ethics, however, your board may consider inclusion of policy language relative to expectations for conduct, affirming that the student representative is respectful of the board and its administration, and executes their role aligned to board processes and procedures with guidance from administration.
Evaluation Policies may benefit from including ways to evaluate the effectiveness of the student representative program. This may include requirements that administration collect feedback from the student representative, board members and the student body; review the representative’s participation and impact annually and offer the opportunity to make adjustments to the policy as needed based on findings. In this way, the board can ensure the representative program remains responsive to the needs of students, while also ensuring the board continues to perform its duties and responsibilities.
A comprehensive policy on student representatives ensures the role is structured, meaningful and impactful. By addressing key elements such as purpose, responsibilities, support and conduct expectations, boards can create a framework that empowers student representatives to contribute effectively, while fostering leadership and civic engagement. This approach not only benefits the board, but also enriches the educational experience for students and the broader school community.
Kimberly A. Gatti is NJSBA’s director of policy.
