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Student member asks Harford County delegation to back bills expanding student voting rights
Summary
Student member Trey told the board he is working with legislators on two bills to expand a student member’s voting rights — one to allow votes on calendar and curriculum, and a second that would also permit budget votes after required training — and requested board support and letters to the county delegation.
Student member Trey asked the Harford County board on Dec. 1 to support two proposed bills that would expand the student member’s voting rights.
Trey said he has worked with legislators to prepare two versions: one that would remove calendar and curriculum from the statutory list of matters a student member cannot vote on, and a separate bill that would also permit voting on budgetary matters provided the student completes a district‑designed budget training within two months of election. "My main priorities are budget, calendar, and curriculum," Trey told board members when outlining the proposals.
Under current state law the student member is treated as a full sitting member except for enumerated exceptions; Trey said his drafts preserve many of the statutory exceptions but aim to remove the specific exclusions for appeals (in some cases), calendar and curriculum. He noted a Baltimore City model that allows the elected board to vote, on a case‑by‑case basis, whether a matter falls within the student member’s exceptions.
Trey asked board members to consider individual or official letters of support to the county delegation and said he had already met with most local legislators. Board members asked practical questions about workload and attendance for quasi‑judicial appeals; Trey said the proposal would not require the student member to attend appeals that remain listed in the statutory exceptions.
Trey provided board materials, including a comparison spreadsheet of student‑member voting exceptions across Maryland counties and two proposed bill drafts. He said he plans to pursue cross‑filing in the House and Senate and asked for help with outreach to the delegation.
