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Bill would require student voting members and reporting rights on community and technical college boards
Summary
House Bill 1278 would require every community and technical college district board of trustees to include a student member and would require student government representatives at public institutions to be allowed to address governing boards at regular meetings. Multiple student trustees, student associations and campus leaders testified in strong
House Bill 1278 would require community and technical college (CTC) district boards to include a student member and would require regional universities, state universities, Evergreen State College and community and technical colleges to allow a student government representative to address their governing boards at each regular meeting, committee staff said at the Jan. 22 hearing.
Committee staff Elizabeth Allison framed the bill: “The board of trustees for each community and technical college district must include a student member. Additionally, regional universities, state universities, the Evergreen State College, and community and technical colleges must all allow a student government representative from their respective institution or district to address their respective governing board at each regular meeting.”
Representative Gael Pollet (prime sponsor) said student representation on governance bodies reinforces institutional missions and provides student leaders with leadership development opportunities; she noted that only two CTCs had student trustees under the prior permissive law and argued a mandate would equalize opportunity across roughly 34 colleges.
Many current and former student trustees and student association leaders testified in strong support. Tamina Arhona, a former Bellevue College student trustee, described how serving as a student trustee affected her career and helped prepare her for leadership. Daniel Ongoy, president of Bellevue’s student government, and representatives of the Washington Student Association and campus student governments from Edmonds College and UW campuses said student trustees bring perspectives that improve board decision‑making and institutional responsiveness.
Questions from lawmakers addressed whether student trustees would vote (sponsor said they would be voting members, subject to the same recusal rules that exist at other institutions), whether students would be excluded from executive sessions on personnel and collective bargaining matters (staff said student members follow the same limits to recusal as other student trustees), and how running start or younger students might be included (sponsor said nomination and onboarding processes are used to ensure readiness). Several witnesses asked for a small amendment to ensure language requiring student government representatives to report at regent/regional board meetings accommodates institutions with multiple student governments (for example, multiple campus student governments at a single university campus system).
No formal committee vote was taken at the Jan. 22 hearing. Sponsors and students asked the committee to advance the bill and indicated they were working on technical amendments to clarify nomination timelines and reporting language.
