S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
9855--A
I N A S S E M B L Y
April 24, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, McDONALD, O'DONNELL, BRABENEC -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Education -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to permitting the desig-
nation of students as ex officio members of school boards; and to
repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 1702 of the education law, as
amended by chapter 314 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as
follows:
3. Each union free school district[, at the next annual meeting subse-
quent to the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand
five which amended this subdivision, may submit to the qualified voters
of the district for approval, the issue of ex officio student membership
on the school district's board of education, by a student attending a
high school within such school district. Upon voter approval, each such
district] THAT OPERATES A HIGH SCHOOL shall establish a process for
[student membership selection] DESIGNATING AT LEAST ONE STUDENT AS AN EX
OFFICIO MEMBER pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision. If, prior to
August fifth, two thousand three, a school district had a policy that
allowed a student or students to be ex officio members of the school
board, such policy shall be deemed to meet the requirements of this
subdivision and shall be deemed to have full legal effect. In any
district that contains more than one high school, such process shall
take into consideration the number of high schools within the district
and provide for a mechanism which allows for fair representation among
the schools. Such school district shall allow such selected student OR
STUDENTS to serve as [an] ex officio [member] MEMBERS of such district's
board of education[, and, if so,] AND provided further that:
a. The ex officio student [member] MEMBERS of the board shall be enti-
tled to sit with board members at all public meetings AND HEARINGS of
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14010-07-4
A. 9855--A 2
the board and MAY participate in [all board hearings and meetings] OTHER
BOARD ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD.
b. The ex officio student [member of the board] MEMBERS shall not be
allowed to vote, shall not be allowed to attend executive session OR ANY
OTHER MEETINGS OR HEARINGS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, and shall not be
entitled to receive compensation of any form for participating at board
meetings.
c. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the ex officio
student [member] MEMBERS of the board may be any of the following: the
student that has been duly elected as student president of the high
school; a student duly elected by the student body; a student selected
by the high school student government; a student selected by the high
school principal; a student selected by the superintendent of schools; a
student selected by majority vote of the school board. [Provided, howev-
er, in districts having district-wide student governments or advisory
committees, the student ex officio member shall be selected by the
superintendent of schools from among the members of such district-wide
student governments or advisory committees, subject to ratification by
majority vote of the school board.]
d. The ex officio student [member shall be a senior at the high school
and] MEMBERS shall have attended such high school for at least [two
years] ONE YEAR prior to selection.
§ 2. Subdivision 3-a of section 1702 of the education law is REPEALED.
§ 3. Subdivision 12 of section 1804 of the education law, as amended
by chapter 314 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
12. Each central school district[, at the next annual meeting subse-
quent to the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand
five which amended this subdivision, may submit to the qualified voters
of the district for approval, the issue of ex officio student membership
on the school district's board of education, by a student attending a
high school within such school district. Upon voter approval, each such
district] shall establish a process for [student membership selection]
DESIGNATING AT LEAST ONE STUDENT AS AN EX OFFICIO MEMBER pursuant to
paragraph c of this subdivision. If, prior to August fifth, two thousand
three, a school district had a policy that allowed a student or students
to be ex officio members of the school board, such policy shall be
deemed to meet the requirements of this subdivision and shall be deemed
to have full legal effect. In any district that contains more than one
high school, such process shall take into consideration the number of
high schools within the district and provide for a mechanism which
allows for fair representation among the schools. Such school district
shall allow such selected student OR STUDENTS to serve as [an] ex offi-
cio [member] MEMBERS of such district's board of education[, and, if
so,] AND provided further that:
a. The ex officio student [member] MEMBERS of the board shall be enti-
tled to sit with board members at all public meetings AND HEARINGS of
the board and MAY participate in [all board hearings and meetings] OTHER
BOARD ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD.
b. The ex officio student [member] MEMBERS of the board shall not be
allowed to vote, shall not be allowed to attend executive session OR ANY
OTHER MEETINGS OR HEARINGS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, and shall not be
entitled to receive compensation of any form for participating at board
meetings.
c. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the ex officio
student [member] MEMBERS of the board may be any of the following: the
student that has been duly elected as student president of the high
A. 9855--A 3
school; a student duly elected by the student body; a student selected
by the high school student government; a student selected by the high
school principal; a student selected by the superintendent of schools; a
student selected by majority vote of the school board. [Provided, howev-
er, in districts having district-wide student governments or advisory
committees, the student ex officio member shall be selected by the
superintendent of schools from among the members of such district-wide
student governments or advisory committees, subject to ratification by
majority vote of the school board.]
d. The ex officio student [member shall be a senior at the high school
and] MEMBERS shall have attended such high school for at least [two
years] ONE YEAR prior to selection.
§ 4. Subdivision 12-a of section 1804 of the education law is
REPEALED.
§ 5. Subdivision 2 of section 1901 of the education law, as added by
chapter 314 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
2. Each central high school district[, at the next annual meeting and
election subsequent to the effective date of the chapter of the laws of
two thousand five which added this subdivision, may submit to the quali-
fied voters of the district for approval the issue of ex officio student
membership, on the school district's board of education, by a student
attending a high school within such school district. Upon voter
approval, each such district] shall establish a process for [student
membership selection] DESIGNATING AT LEAST ONE STUDENT AS AN EX OFFICIO
MEMBER pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision. If, prior to August
fifth, two thousand three, a school district had a policy that allowed a
student or students to be ex officio members of the school board, such
policy shall be deemed to meet the requirements of this subdivision and
shall be deemed to have full legal effect. In any district that contains
more than one high school, such process shall take into consideration
the number of high schools within the district and shall provide for a
mechanism which allows for fair representation among the schools. Such
district shall allow such selected student OR STUDENTS to serve as [an]
ex officio [member] MEMBERS of such board of education, and[, if so,]
provided further that:
a. The ex officio student [member] MEMBERS of the board shall be enti-
tled to sit with board members at all public meetings AND HEARINGS of
the board and MAY participate in [all board hearings and meetings] OTHER
BOARD ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD.
b. The ex officio student [member] MEMBERS of the board shall not be
allowed to vote, shall not be allowed to attend executive session OR ANY
OTHER MEETINGS OR HEARINGS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, and shall not be
entitled to receive compensation of any form for participating at board
meetings.
c. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the ex officio
student [member] MEMBERS of the board may be any of the following: the
student that has been duly elected as student president of the high
school; a student duly elected by the student body; a student selected
by the high school student government; a student selected by the high
school principal; a student selected by the superintendent of schools; A
STUDENT SELECTED BY MAJORITY VOTE OF THE SCHOOL BOARD. [Provided, howev-
er, in districts having district-wide student governments or advisory
committees, student ex officio members shall be selected by the super-
intendent of schools from among the members of such district-wide
student governments or advisory committees, subject to ratification by
majority vote of the school board.]
A. 9855--A 4
d. The ex officio student [member shall be a senior at the high school
and] MEMBERS shall have attended such high school for at least [two
years] ONE YEAR prior to selection.
§ 6. Subdivision 3 of section 1901 of the education law is REPEALED.
§ 7. Subdivision 10 of section 2502 of the education law, as amended
by chapter 314 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
10. Each small city school district[, at the next annual meeting
subsequent to the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thou-
sand five which amended this subdivision, may submit to the qualified
voters of the district for approval, the issue of ex officio student
membership on the school district's board of education, by a student
attending a high school within such school district. Upon voter
approval, each such district] shall establish a process for [student
membership selection] DESIGNATING AT LEAST ONE STUDENT AS AN EX OFFICIO
MEMBER pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision. If, prior to August
fifth, two thousand three, a school district had a policy that allowed a
student or students to be ex officio members of the school board, such
policy shall be deemed to meet the requirements of this subdivision and
shall be deemed to have full legal effect. In any district that contains
more than one high school, such process shall take into consideration
the number of high schools within the district and provide for a mech-
anism which allows for fair representation among the schools. Such
school district shall allow such selected student OR STUDENTS to serve
as [an] ex officio [member] MEMBERS of such district's board of educa-
tion[, and, if so,] AND provided further that:
a. The ex officio student [member] MEMBERS of the board shall be enti-
tled to sit with board members at all public meetings AND HEARINGS of
the board and MAY participate in [all board hearings and meetings] OTHER
BOARD ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD.
b. The ex officio student [member] MEMBERS of the board shall not be
allowed to vote, shall not be allowed to attend executive session OR ANY
OTHER MEETINGS OR HEARINGS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, and shall not be
entitled to receive compensation of any form for participating at board
meetings.
c. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the ex officio
student [member] MEMBERS of the board may be any of the following: the
student that has been duly elected as student president of the high
school; a student selected by the high school student government; a
student selected by the high school principal; a student selected by the
superintendent of schools; a student selected by majority vote of the
school board. [Provided, however, in districts having district-wide
student governments or advisory committees, the student ex officio
member shall be selected by the superintendent of schools from among the
members of such district-wide student governments or advisory commit-
tees, subject to ratification by majority vote of the school board.]
d. The ex officio student [member] MEMBERS shall [be a senior at the
high school and shall] have attended such high school for at least [two
years] ONE YEAR prior to selection.
§ 8. Subdivision 10-a of section 2502 of the education law is
REPEALED.
§ 9. Section 1950 of the education law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 2-c to read as follows:
2-C. A. EACH BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES SHALL HAVE ONE
OR MORE EX OFFICIO STUDENT MEMBERS. SUPERVISORY DISTRICTS WITH TEN OR
FEWER COMPONENT DISTRICTS SHALL HAVE AT LEAST ONE EX OFFICIO STUDENT
MEMBER; SUPERVISORY DISTRICTS WITH MORE THAN TEN AND FEWER THAN OR EQUAL
A. 9855--A 5
TO TWENTY COMPONENT DISTRICTS SHALL HAVE AT LEAST TWO EX OFFICIO STUDENT
MEMBERS; AND SUPERVISORY DISTRICTS WITH MORE THAN TWENTY COMPONENT
DISTRICTS SHALL HAVE AT LEAST THREE EX OFFICIO STUDENT MEMBERS.
B. EACH SUPERVISORY DISTRICT SHALL ESTABLISH A PROCESS FOR DETERMINING
WHICH COMPONENT DISTRICT OR DISTRICTS SHALL SELECT THE EX OFFICIO
STUDENT MEMBERS EACH SCHOOL YEAR. SUCH PROCESS SHALL TAKE INTO CONSID-
ERATION THE NUMBER OF COMPONENT DISTRICTS WITHIN THE SUPERVISORY
DISTRICT AND PROVIDE FOR A MECHANISM WHICH ALLOWS FOR FAIR REPRESEN-
TATION AMONG THE COMPONENT DISTRICTS. EACH SUPERVISORY DISTRICT SHALL
ALSO ESTABLISH A PROCESS BY WHICH SUCH COMPONENT DISTRICT OR DISTRICTS
SHALL SELECT THE EX OFFICIO STUDENT MEMBER OR MEMBERS, PROVIDED THAT
SUCH MEMBERS SHALL BE STUDENTS WHO HAVE ATTENDED A HIGH SCHOOL WITHIN
THEIR COMPONENT DISTRICT FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR AND WHO PARTICIPATE IN A
PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY THE SUPERVISORY DISTRICT.
C. THE EX OFFICIO STUDENT MEMBERS OF THE BOARD SHALL BE ENTITLED TO
SIT WITH BOARD MEMBERS AT ALL PUBLIC MEETINGS AND HEARINGS OF THE BOARD
AND MAY PARTICIPATE IN OTHER BOARD ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AT
THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD.
D. THE EX OFFICIO STUDENT MEMBERS OF THE BOARD SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED TO
VOTE, SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND EXECUTIVE SESSION OR ANY OTHER
MEETINGS OR HEARINGS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, AND SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED
TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION OF ANY FORM FOR PARTICIPATING AT BOARD MEETINGS.
§ 10. Section 2552 of the education law, as amended by chapter 138 of
the laws of 1974, is amended to read as follows:
§ 2552. Board of education. The board of education of each such city
school district is hereby continued. The educational affairs in each
such city school district shall be under the general management and
control of a board of education to consist of not less than three and
not more than nine members, to be chosen as hereinafter provided, and to
be known as members of the board of education, except that the board of
education of the city school district of the city of New York shall be
constituted as provided in article fifty-two-A of this [chapter] TITLE.
The number of members on the board of education of each such city school
district shall continue to be as follows, PROVIDED THAT STUDENT EX OFFI-
CIO BOARD MEMBERS AS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ELEVEN OF SECTION TWENTY-
FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED BOARD
MEMBERS FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
a. City school district of the city of Buffalo: nine members.
b. City school district of the city of Rochester: seven members.
c. City school district of the city of Syracuse: seven members.
d. City school district of the city of Yonkers: nine members.
§ 11. Section 2553 of the education law is amended by adding two new
subdivisions 1-a and 11 to read as follows:
1-A. THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY
TO EX OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS, AS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ELEVEN OF THIS
SECTION.
11. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY OTHER LAW, EACH BOARD OF
EDUCATION SHALL ESTABLISH A PROCESS FOR DESIGNATING AT LEAST ONE STUDENT
AS AN EX OFFICIO BOARD MEMBER. EX OFFICIO STUDENT MEMBERS SHALL BE
ENTITLED TO SIT WITH BOARD MEMBERS AT ALL PUBLIC MEETINGS AND HEARINGS
OF THE BOARD AND MAY PARTICIPATE IN OTHER BOARD ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSI-
BILITIES AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD. SUCH EX OFFICIO STUDENT MEMBERS
SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED TO VOTE, SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND EXECUTIVE
SESSION OR ANY OTHER MEETINGS OR HEARINGS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
§ 12. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.