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Student advisory council urges site-based SACs, peer-mentoring and stronger youth representation
Summary
The Sacramento City Unified Student Advisory Council presented survey results from more than 1,100 high-school respondents and recommended districtwide steps to bolster student voice, including pilot site-based SACs at five comprehensive high schools and a peer-to-peer mentorship program to improve inclusion for special-education students.
The Sacramento City Unified School District's Student Advisory Council presented its year-end report to the board, saying it collected more than 1,100 student survey responses and identified three priority areas: special-education inclusion, student voice, and site-based leadership programs.
"We collected over 1,100 responses throughout our district high schools," a SAC presenter told the board, summarizing a survey that the council said reached every comprehensive high school and logged the highest participation from West Campus, John F. Kennedy and Luther Burbank. The council said common themes in student responses included "physical and emotional unsafety, inequity and minority barriers, and resource scarcity."
The SAC recommended a districtwide peer-to-peer mentorship program modeled on existing efforts at Luther Burbank and West Campus. The proposal would expand elective periods that allow general-education students to support special-education peers and emphasize professional development for site administrators and special-education staff. "To address this result, we recommend establishing a peer-to-peer mentorship program connecting special education students and general education students for both academic and social purposes," the council said.
On student representation, the council urged the board to give the student board member the authority to appoint youth representatives to district committees, to increase visible youth participation on decision-making bodies, and to prioritize continuous recruitment for student leadership roles. To solve site-level gaps, SAC proposed reintroducing site-based SACs at five comprehensive high schools in 2026–27 with up to five paid student positions at each site and a per-diem teacher advisor, funded and supported by Youth Development and Student Supports (YDSS).
Board members praised the students' research methods and outreach. One trustee thanked the council for making the survey districtwide after prior terms had been concentrated at a single campus, and several trustees noted the value of students bringing "qualitative and quantitative data" to the board table.
The presentation concluded with a pledge from SAC to continue working with district committees including the LCAP PAC and community-advisory groups to implement the recommendations, and the board acknowledged the group's work before moving to public comment.
