Opinion: Is Increased Authority for Student Members of School Boards a Good Idea?

 

By Gene Harrington

The writer is a resident of Ellicott City.

The Maryland House of Delegate’s Ways and Means Committee will hear testimony Thursday on legislation that will fundamentally change the makeup and mechanics of almost every local board of education in the Old Line State.

Specifically, the panel will formally begin its consideration of House Bill 797 – a measure expanding voting rights for student members of local boards of education and officially add student members to boards that don’t legally recognize them.

Many school boards throughout the country have a student representative who participates in open meetings and casts advisory votes. Moreover, California, New Jersey, New York and Virginia all have laws in place regarding student representation on school boards. Maryland, however, is believed to be the only state in the country that permits 16- and 17-year-old student members to cast binding votes on many crucial issues.

Currently, state law permits student members of the board of education in eight jurisdictions – Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Charles, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and Baltimore City – to cast binding votes. Most Marylanders are almost certainly not aware of this fact...

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/03/02/opinion-is-increased-authority-for-student-members-of-school-boards-a-good-idea/?fbclid=IwAR2rKdeg3bAQIkXvLbS5WXY4OEH4HIRjcUxB9hWPaaH4-8V6lFEx_jElUUY