Board mulls student representation policy
Pittsburgh Public School directors are revisiting a potential plan that would give students a voice on the school board months after they nixed a similar proposal.
During a policy committee meeting Monday evening, directors dove into a proposed policy that lays out a plan for two student representatives to sit on the board as non-voting members.
The goal is to have the teens represent student voices from all district schools.
“The role of student voice at the board table is really critical and important,” school Director Devon Taliaferro said. “I think there are probably ways we could have been implementing this even without a particular role, but I’m glad to see that we can put together a program and a role for students to be at the table.”
As the proposed policy currently reads, one 11th grader and one 12th grader will be chosen to sit on the board. They will apply for the position in the spring when they are either in 10th or 11th grade. In the application the students must provide two letters of recommendation and their transcripts (students must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 or higher to qualify).
After receiving applications, the superintendent will make a recommendation for board consideration. Once students are chosen, an oath will be publicly administered. They will then participate in one training session before being required to attend voting meetings as non-voting participants. They will not attend executive sessions except by special invitation.
During voting meetings, the teens will be given time to provide an update on the student body and will represent each of the district’s 54 school buildings. They will be cognizant of the board’s role as a policymaking body and will be appropriately dressed and courteous. The students will not publicly represent the intent of the board or contract on behalf of the board or district.
“The idea is that the students serving as student board representatives should have a responsibility to report back to the student body,” Superintendent Wayne Walters said.
It mirrors similar initiatives across the country. According to a 2009 survey from the National School Boards Association, of 39 responding state associations, 25 said they had students serving on local school boards. And during a 2020 survey of 49 state associations, 31, including Pennsylvania, said that having student board members was a local option. In the Pittsburgh area, several school boards have student representatives.
The policy is similar to the motion PPS directors originally tabled in January, which stated that an 11th and 12th grader would have been selected to sit on the board by a committee of high school principals. The superintendent would have made the final recommendation.
Students picked for the role would then have been tasked with attending public agenda review and legislative voting meetings as non-voting members, and they would have prepared a monthly report. They would have also been assigned a board member who would act as a mentor throughout the student’s two year terms.
But at the time, school directors said there were
unanswered questions over how the program would work and suggested that two students were not representative of the entire student body.
Ms. Taliaferro on Monday suggested that the original resolution “was really a skeleton.”
“I’m really glad that we took the time to put this work in and really make something that gives a little bit more structure to the students that will hold these roles and their experiences and not put them in a position as non-elected representatives of the board … that would be compromising for them,” Ms. Taliaferro said.
Still, some concerns were raised around some language used in the proposed policy.
School Director Yael Silk said the requirement that students would be appropriately dressed and courteous “raised an eyebrow for me.” Solicitor Danielle Guarascio added that the language would be further defined during the students’ training session.
Ms. Silk also pointed to a section of the policy that lays out the expectation of confidentiality, which Ms. Guarascio said would only be enforced if a student was asked to sit in on an executive session, something she described as an “extra safeguard.”
The school board must now vote on the proposed policy during a legislative meeting. If it is approved, students will be selected for the role in August.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how this will play out,” Ms. Taliaferro said. “I’m glad that we are putting this in policy … so there are some solidifying factors to make sure that we keep this work going for boards of the future.”
In addition to the student representative policy, school directors on Monday also discussed possible tweaks to the student code of conduct.
Possible changes to the document include adding language to the section around infractions to state that if a school employee is assaulted it is considered aggravated assault because the victim is considered a protected class. Other language added to the document prohibits aggression, intimidation or hostility based on someone’s gender identity and sexual orientation.
It did not touch on summary citations, which have been paused for months after advocates said they disproportionately target Black students
Other proposed changes lay out a student’s right to dress in ways that celebrate their racial, cultural, religious and gender identities and that schools cannot issue in-school suspensions based on dress code violations. Language could be added to uphold the city and county’s Crown Acts, which prohibit discrimination based on natural hairstyles and textures.
Other language defining social emotional learning and chronic absenteeism is also being considered.
Any changes to the code of conduct will be voted on during the June 26 meeting.