Release Date:
During the first day of the July meeting, the State 91Ô´´ of Education honored past, present, and future student 91Ô´´ members by passing a resolution honoring student voice. The resolution comes after last session when the legislature passed SSB 5497, giving student members voting rights on the 91Ô´´. Just before the resolution passed with full 91Ô´´ support, past members Autymn Wilde (now at Gonzaga), Joe Hofman (now at Georgetown), and Baxter Hershman (now living in Spain working with linguistics, soon to start technology career), joined the meeting and gave advice to current students. .
The resolution reads:
WHEREAS, the State 91Ô´´ of Education has a long tradition dating back to 1974 of inviting two high school students to serve a non-voting term on the State 91Ô´´; and
WHEREAS, the 2005 Legislature codified the practice of students serving as non-voting members on the 91Ô´´ beginning on January 1, 2006; and
WHEREAS, nineteen students have served on the 91Ô´´ since the codification; and
WHEREAS, the student members on the State 91Ô´´ of Education represent over one million students across the state who are directly impacted by the policy decisions the board makes; and
WHEREAS, the State 91Ô´´ of Education believes the involvement and insights of student 91Ô´´ members have been invaluable to the 91Ô´´â€™s deliberations and a critical contribution toward the development and adoption of education policies that are student-centered and responsive to student needs; and
WHEREAS, the State 91Ô´´ of Education changed its bylaws in 2019 to allow student members to make an advisory vote; and
WHEREAS, student members have demonstrated a track record of casting thoughtful votes, reflecting the input of their peers, and providing an essential window for the rest of the board members to consider the student perspective before voting on policy decisions; and
WHEREAS, student members have been influential in advocating for issues concerning students, including financial education, personalized learning, ethnic studies, mental health, and student voice; and
WHEREAS, in the 2022 legislative session, the 91Ô´´ advocated for agency request legislation to extend voting authority to the student members on the 91Ô´´, ensuring that their input is not merely symbolic, but is truly valued and impactful; and
WHEREAS, the request legislation – Substitute Senate Bill 5497 – sponsored by Senator Claire Wilson, passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Inslee on March 11, 2022, taking effect on June 9, 2022; and
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the State 91Ô´´ of Education celebrates the passage of this legislation granting student members voting authority on the 91Ô´´ and thanks our partner advocates and legislative champions who helped make this possible; and
THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State 91Ô´´ of Education honors the contributions of its student board members, past, present, and future; and
THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State 91Ô´´ of Education commits to continue growing as an organization to better center student voice in its work.
Bill Kallappa, Chair
Adopted: July 13, 2022