For the last five years, I have worked towards student representation in education. I’ve been perplexed by how often schools and government bodies around the country do not permit students to either sit on the Board of Education, have an active student constituency that can meet with government officials, or even something as simple as having a student sit on a local school committee. Policymakers have made the assumption that students aren't responsible enough to have a say in their own education, therefore, students have been left out of the table where all the other stakeholders in education get to decide how the students are directly impacted in their schools. This impact could be a change in community and culture, a change in the way they are assessed, or even what classes they must take in order to graduate. These are significant decisions being made without any student consultation. I’ve always said that students are the largest stakeholder in education, and I am an avid believer that they have a voice and they should be empowered to use it. Yet even today in 2016, there are only 4 states in the country where a student is invited to their State Board of Education, and they have full voting rights (MA, CA, TN, VT), and even more abysmal, is that there is only one state in which students get to elect their student advocate onto the Board of Education (Massachusetts).
This blog isn’t meant to be a sorrowful read of how students are heavily underrepresented in decisions that are changing their livelihood, rather, this post, and this blog in general is meant to highlight how student organizations across that country have taken action and have created/advocated for meaningful legislative changes that have brought a beneficial impact to the community. As of today, there are over 15 states in the country (more than 25% of the U.S.) that have had serious legislation/policy created or advocated by students that has been approved either by the state legislature or the State Board. Some of the issues have pertained to student homelessness, sibling custody rights, and anti-discrimination laws of LGBTQ community. My research is based on the notion that students have shown integrity, dedication, and passion towards their work and can be taken seriously. As the Massachusetts Student Representative, Donald Logan-Willyard said to me, “the burden of proof has shifted from the students to the policymakers now.” These instances of policy changes are puzzle pieces scattered across the country, and until now, they have never been connected. My blog will help in understanding how these puzzle pieces connect, as well as solidifying a case for people who doubt that students can actually change the world in which we live.
