Introduction

Education is at the heart of millions of youth lives and plays a critical role in how it shapes our future. As students, they are responsible for completing their line of work assigned by their teacher, who is almost always an educator/adult. Reports from 2018 show that In the United States, there were 53.1 million K-12 students and roughly 3.1 million K-12 public school teachers (Jeffrey et. al, 2024). Despite students having the largest population of educational stakeholders, they are rarely seen participating in educational governance in any regard. Whether that is seen in advisory committees, councils, commissions, or chairs, students are never the ones that contribute to education policy decision-making. Students are the most impacted by educational policy, yet they are unable to contribute to the matter. As of 2019, only 23 out of the 50 states have students on their state Board of Education, where school policies are established and created. Within those 23 states, the majority of the student board members were non-voting members, which means that they are non-required members whenever voting to pass legislation and policy. The nationwide issue of low student-participation in educational governance is one that remains to be a prevalent issue today. Despite efforts to incorporate youth and students at the state level in educational committees, student influence remains to be very minimal across the board and remains to have very little impact on K-12 education. In order to effectively utilize student voice and maximize their value, it's important for states within their school districts and schools to foster early student leadership. It isn't just integral to reforming and contributing to educational policy, but fostering this type of skill builds student representation, advocacy, and a sense of activism (Patrick, 2022). Each state’s Board of Education is responsible for managing educational policies relating to school curriculum and student involvement across their respective state, but by having students involved in educational governance matters, it opens another perspective that might not have been discovered or acknowledged by a group of educators and adults in a room. Thus, it is imperative to discuss the issues regarding youth-student involvement in educational-related committees and councils.

Current Stances

Having students in educational governance is difficult to imagine, where you are enlisting trust in the youth to make decisions that will impact generations of people. However, it’s also difficult to imagine the immense amount of impact students can deliver to their peers if they were to contribute to educational policy in any regard. The Democratic Platform firmly believes in the role of education among every child, where everyone should have access to a high-quality education from preschool through high school and beyond (The Democratic Party, 2019). Democrats strive for a world where all children are able to lead happy and successful lives, and that all begins at the heart of education. This has historically been demonstrated as far back as 1965, where President Johnson and a Democratic Congress enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). ESEA establishes the outline for targeting every child in the United States with a quality education in their educational journey. Democrats realize that education is the pinnacle of America's future, and prioritizing the youth and students is the step in the right direction for a thriving and successful society. Similarly, the national Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) has recognized the success in students participating in forms of governance through mediums like student council, student government associations, and school advisory councils. However, this type of student participation is merely an act of educational participance, rather than educational partnership and collaboration (Board of Directors, 2014). The National PTA advocates for increased student involvement in educational matters through elected student leaders in school districts, state board of educations, and other educational committees. They support the youth's ability to review policies and procedures that impact K-12 education, which will allow for fostering intergenerational dialogue between parents, teachers, and students. Enlisting student representatives in educational governance not only allows them to impact educational policy, but promoting meaningful student involvement in schools also prepares students for a lifetime of effective contributions to their communities in the future.

Tried Policy

As the Department of Education does not have executive power in carrying out educational policy, this is ultimately left in the hands of the states. In doing so, some states like Minnesota, California, and Washington have begun to realize the potential of students in educational governance and matters affecting educational policy. Minnesota State college recognizes that student participation and involvement are two integral parts of student leadership and development, where trust and collaboration are a must to incorporate (Student Affairs, 2024). The university has made efforts in establishing students in educational committees, where they are delegated to proactive lines of communication and maintaining representation of the student body. The college has also made attempts in cultivating collaboration through common goals, where student leaders give their input regarding how the college can support students with their needs. These student leaders are encouraged to share suggestions for improvement alongside the other college and university leaders in striving for transparent communication and collaboration between educators and students. Similarly, school administrators in the state of Washington have outlined structures that heighten student voices in educational matters (Hanover Research, 2022). Included in their tried policy involves a multitude of strategies to elicit student voice across a spectrum of intensity, methods to ensure students included in student-voice initiatives accurately reflect the diversity of the student body, and considerations of incorporating student voices with accountability. This is most evident in the National Youth Rights Association, where they have established a Student Bill of Rights created by students and youth rights activists. This constitution was written in an effort to help students address their rights and freedoms that weren't acknowledged by the educational system (Jenkins. et al, 2023). The Student Bill of Rights mimics the U.S. Bill of Rights, where amendments have been established to give rights to students in regards to the freedom of existence and belief, the freedom of expression, the right to self-leadership, safety, and many other pressing issues that go unnoticed and remain overshadowed in K-12 education today. Putting students at the forefront of education has allowed them to not only innovate educational policy, but also expand student voices at a larger scale than seen previously. The states’ efforts in incorporating students in educational governance should be recognized across the nation, where other states are able to utilize these models of implementations for the greater good of youth’s education. 

Educational Stakeholders

It may seem obvious to include students as an educational stakeholder in fostering educational policy, yet not every state has not made clear efforts to do-so. Educational stakeholders in the matter of educational governance should always include school leaders who can represent the principles of democracy, of liberty, of equality, of civility and community, and of the Constitution (Cai, 2021). These school leaders have come to a consensus that public education must foster students in an understanding of the moral values and civic responsibilities that form American society. Thus, fostering students in educational governance would be the first step in this bright direction. One way to do-so, in order to nurture democratic citizenship, is to encourage and engage students in the governance of local and state school boards: recognizing them as official educational stakeholders. In 14 states, having students serve on local school boards as a stakeholder is not practiced, while 31 states across the US have student board member stakeholders as a local option. Additionally, among the 495 largest U.S. school districts, only 14% of them have student board members. It highlights concern that educational stakeholders are not diversified enough in gauging perspective for educational policy. Josh Becker, a Senator from California, advocates for students being lead voices as educational stakeholders in his respective area. In his words, "if a high school student comes up, everybody puts their phones down. They really focus." In the context of educational policy, there is a stark contrast to when a student speaks about educational policy versus an adult or educator speaking about the same matter (Camp, 2022). According to Becker, he has benefited through the utilization of young people. The majority of his legislation and his bills have come from the community, which include students being involved throughout the democratic process. Having students speaking out of issues and concerns regarding their education gives way for a youth-majority audience to take note of the matter and hear what they have to say, which can be pivotal in reforming educational policy effectively through community collaboration. 

Risks of Indifference

Student engagement has shown to decline as students begin to grow older and grow farther along in their education. A 2016 Gallup poll revealed that only 60% of 5th graders report high engagement in school. By middle school, this statistic drops to a little more than 50% of students reportedly being engaged. By high school, this engagement rate significantly depleted to a rate of about 33% (Benner, Meg, et al., 2024). A 2006 Civic Enterprises report reveals that 47% of 16-24 year old non-high school graduates dropped out because classes were not as interesting as they'd like. 69% of those graduates reported that they were also not motivated nor had an incentive to put effort in these classes. These are just glances of the issues that are being generated by the lack of youth and student involvement in educational governance. Students already know these issues are prevalent in their school communities and school districts, which give them an advantage of providing primary perspectives regarding the matter. Student leaders emerge in schools through the means of identifying core elements in their communities that seem to remain a problem affecting the student body. By elevating students within educational committees and governance, nationwide problems that involve chronic absenteeism, educational engagement, participation, and student collaboration are able to be mitigated and resolved. 

Nonpartisan Reasoning

Shared governance for education in schools implies advocacy by participating stakeholders, which includes administration, staff, faculty, and students. This process involves all stakeholders to openly exchange information and opinions for educational planning improvement purposes, however, the majority of students believe that they are not of this shared governance and rather student input was very limited to one-time occurrences (Davis, 2022). Many governing bodies may be committed with a mission to advocate for students and be passionate about education by providing community opportunities, but the stakeholders involved may not be familiar with the activity actively taking place in these schools and school districts. Students are the ones involved in these daily activities taking place, so it makes most sense to incorporate student voices in shared educational governance. Historically however, students have had their voices heard to address disparities and discriminatory practices seen in their community. It is rare for students to be invited down for discussions related to academic standards, strategic educational planning, or mission-centric educational initiatives. Issues arise at the heart of the lack of intergenerational communication in shared governance, where reports of student activity are difficult to manage among administration, teachers, and faculty as they have their own responsibilities to follow. With the participation of students, it eases this process and increases the effectiveness of governance in school communities. Having frequent and consistent interactions among educators and students that encourage dialogue and embrace equitable stakeholder voices sets up success for educational policy to be conducted in a timely manner. 

Policy Options & Solutions

It is evident that students are a necessity within shared educational governance and a necessity for them to actively participate in discussions related to educational matters at-hand. To do-so, establishing youth based committees that involve primarily students and youth from the community will foster the means of uplifting student voices all around. Additionally, installing student leader representatives in already-existing committees within school boards, committees, and councils will pivot the way to increase intergenerational collaboration. It’s important to note that these policy solutions will not require any means of funding. Establishments of youth and student-based committees have recently been evident in the state of Nevada, where they have created an Advisory council for educational matters (Nevada Department of Education, 2024). The intent behind this advisory council is to empower students across Nevada by having them actively participate in shaping educational policy in the state within their school communities and school districts. The composition of this council consists of a diverse group of student leaders selected from each school district in the state. In this effort, these student leaders will be upheld to the task of acting as communicators for their peers and translating that into riveting discussion. The advisory council has the mission of instilling positive change in schools across Nevada and increasing student engagement through statewide initiatives and programs. Seeing educational initiatives involving student leaders, this has the potential to be widespread across the United States, which has unlimited means for success in K-12 education. 

In addition to extending educational governance to pure student involvement in separate committees, having students in discussion with educators and educational community leaders is an essential for fostering success in educational policy. Interjecting a different generation in discussion opens up more perspectives that may not have been discovered or recognized previously. Interjecting students in specific also allows for intergenerational communication and collaboration to be maximized at the local, district, and state level. Direct informing and updates of the activity taking place in respective schools and school districts can allow for the educators, who tend to have more experience in educational matters, to understand the scope and situation of the state of education in these communities. As educational policy impacts both educators and students, though more direct towards students and indirect towards educators, it is important to recognize all stakeholders equally, whether or not they have the accredited experience in education, government, or leadership. Incorporating all perspectives within shared educational governance is the most effective methodology to create and reform educational policy for K-12 education across the United States.

Concluded Findings

As it stands, education remains vital in shaping America's future. However, it still remains that students are not seen as equal parts in contributing to their education and policies that impact this. Educational issues remain prevalent across the United States, where chronic absenteeism rates are increasing by the hour and student participation and engagement rates in school environments are decreasing by the minute. By increasing the incorporation of students and youth in educational governance, educational-based councils and committees, and for the means of intergenerational collaboration, potential for resolving these educational matters are possible. These proposed solutions have the potential for making the most effective educational policies for students that may not feel their voices are being heard, whether at the local, district, state, or national level. Thus, it is imperat

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Work Cited

• 2014 Board of Directors. “Position Statement - Student Involvement in Educational Governance.” National Parent Teacher Association, www.pta.org/home/advocacy/ptas-positions/Individual-Position-Statements/Position-Statement-Student-Involvement-in-Educational-Governance. Accessed 1 Nov. 2024. 
• Benner, Meg, et al. “Elevating Student Voice in Education.” Center for American Progress, 1 Oct. 2024, www.americanprogress.org/article/elevating-student-voice-education/. 
• Cai, Jinghong. “Students Serving on School Boards: Democratic Education in Action.” Home, 4 Feb. 2021, www.nsba.org/Perspectives/2021/Students-Serving-on-School-Boards. 
• Camp, Jeff. “The Role of Committees in Education Change.” ED100, 31 July 2022, ed100.org/blog/committee-becker. 
• Davis, Jaime. “Increasing Student Engagement in Shared Governance: Identifying and Reducing the Barriers.” Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 17 Nov. 2022, tribalcollegejournal.org/increasing-student-engagement-in-shared-governance-identifying-and-reducing-the-barriers/. 
• The Democratic Party. “Education.” Democrats, 25 July 2019, democrats.org/where-we-stand/the-issues/education/. 
• Hanover Research. “Establishing Structures for Student Voice.” Prepared for Washington Association of School Administrators, Mar. 2022, wasa-oly.org/WASA/images/WASA/6.0 Resources/Hanover/Establishing Structures for Student Voice.pdf. 
• Jeffrey, Ashley, and Sadie Bograd. “How Students Can Help Build Better Education Policy.” Center for American Progress, 1 Oct. 2024, www.americanprogress.org/article/students-can-help-build-better-education-policy. 
• Jenkins, Allison, and Nikos Mohammadi. “Student Bill of Rights.” NYRA - Live Free, Start Young, 20 Apr. 2023, www.youthrights.org/issues/student-rights/student-bill-of-rights/. 
• “Nevada Department of Education.” Nevada Department of Education Announces Student Advisory Group, 6 Aug. 2024, doe.nv.gov/news-media/2024-press-releases/nevada-department-of-education-announces-student-advisory-group. 
• Patrick, Justin. “Student Leadership and Student Government.” Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, Mar. 2022, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1344509.pdf. 
• Student Affairs. “A Guide to Support Student, College, and University Leaders.” Student Involvement in Decision-Making Guide, June 2024, www.minnstate.edu/system/asa/docs/student-involvement-in-decison-making-guide.pdf.