Last May members of the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education chose John Overton High School rising junior Hannah Nguyen to serve as a student board member, alongside fellow student board member Christine Tran.¶
Student members of the board serve two-year terms in the district and hold non-voting positions, but weigh-in on decisions during meeting discussions.¶
“I am honored and elated to join the board as your junior Student Board Member,” Nguyen said at the time. “I look forward to bringing my unique perspective and making student voice not just heard but valued.”¶
Students in many other school districts across the state don’t have the same opportunity to serve that Nguyen and Tran have in Nashville, but that could change soon.¶
Lawmakers are currently considering legislation that would require each school district to create a policy for a non-voting student school board member. The bill unanimously passed the State Senate last week and it’s currently making its way through the committee system in the House.¶
The idea for the legislation came from the student-led organization Students for Education. President and founder University School of Nashville Senior Brendan West told the Tennessee Firefly that the change is needed because school boards frequently don’t hear about important issues impacting students.¶
“Like a hole in their gymnasium roof that has water leak through when it’s raining, that stuff just doesn’t get heard and it doesn’t get fixed,” said West. “Putting a student on the school board will hopefully east those kinds of problems.”¶
Students for Education initially proposed the bill last year but it failed to get out of committee.¶
So far this year, the bill has advanced without objection from committees in both chambers, including a House subcommittee last year where multiple students spoke in favor of it, including Mt. Juliet High School Senior Danny Suarez.¶
“In our state, when more than 85 percent of youth voters did not cast a ballot in the most recent gubernatorial election it’s clear that youth voting and for that matter, youth engagement is at a dangerous low. It is imperative that young people, no matter their opinions or beliefs, are aware of what is happening at all levels of government.”¶
In that meeting House Education Committee Chair Representative Mark White, R-Memphis, offered perhaps the most ringing endorsement of the legislation. White said he previously served on a national education board with multiple student members.¶
“I have never seen such comprehension of the issue and wisdom that came from them, so I am totally supportive of this. I think students can add a lot to the school board as they share the way they see things,” said White.¶
Under the legislation, decisions about qualifications, including whether there would be any academic requirements, would be left to individual school districts.¶
It was scheduled for a vote in the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee this week but members delayed that vote until next Tuesday.¶
