Committee advances proposal to place student members on Minnesota school boards; bill laid over after amendment

The Minnesota Senate Education Policy Committee considered Senate File 197, a bill to require school districts to establish a process for student representation on local school boards. After adopting an author's A1 amendment the committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in the session's omnibus package.

The measure would require elected school boards to establish a selection process that allows enrolled ninth-through-twelfth-grade students who are residents of the district to elect two student members. Under the A1 amendment adopted in committee, student members may attend school board meetings, introduce items for inclusion on the agenda, and participate in public discussion; the amendment clarified they may not participate in closed meetings.

Supporters and testimony

Several current and former students and youth-council members testified in favor of the bill, saying student board membership would create civic education opportunities and strengthen communication between students and boards. Brady Sternberg, a recent Eagan High School graduate who has worked with his district's superintendent and school board, said the measure "gives our communities both of those" — education and "a stake" — and argued student participation increases civic trust and retention of young people in the state.

Representatives of the Minnesota Youth Council, including Taylor O'Shea and Daniel Song, told the committee the council supports the bill and said student board membership provides meaningful opportunities for youth voice on curriculum, discipline and other policies that affect students daily.

Concerns from local boards

Terry Morrow, legal counsel for the Minnesota School Boards Association, said MSBA supports student involvement but urged the committee to allow districts to continue choosing their own selection methods. "These 34 districts take a variety of approaches to how they have their student school board members selected," Morrow said; MSBA declined to support the bill in its current form because it prescribes a single statewide method.

At least one elected school board member, Dan Schilling, testified in opposition on constitutional and local-governance grounds, arguing the bill would impose a state mandate that "infringes" on local self-governance and that minors should not be given voting authority on matters affecting taxpayers. Schilling also noted his district already includes two student representatives who participate in meetings but do not vote.

Committee action and clarifications

The committee adopted the author's A1 amendment by voice vote; the amendment clarifies student participation rights and explicitly excludes closed meetings from student participation. Senators asked several procedural questions: committee discussion clarified that under Minnesota election law only individuals elected by district voters may cast official votes on a school board, and the A1 amendment does not create a new electoral office that votes by general electorate ballot; instead the bill requires the school district to create a student-selection process and permits the student members to participate in public board business (but not closed sessions).

The committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in the omnibus package; no final passage to the full Senate was taken in committee.

Speakers (selected)

- Senator McQueen (author/presenter on SF 197) - Brady Sternberg (Eagan High School graduate; student civic-education advocate) - Taylor O'Shea (member, Minnesota Youth Council) - Daniel Song (representative, Minnesota Youth Council, Congressional District 4) - Cade Kuzmia (student representative, Howard Lake Waverly Winston High School) - Terry Morrow (Legal Counsel, Minnesota School Boards Association) - Matria (Matria) Reeder (junior, St. Anthony Village High School; Minnesota Youth Secretary of State) - Dan Schilling (elected school board member, Morrison County)

Ending

Committee members expressed general support for student engagement and agreed further discussion is warranted; the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill and will return for additional consideration during the negotiations.