The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) is seeking applications from high school students who wish to serve as student representatives to the State Board starting in the 2019-20 school year. The two student representatives will be non-voting members but will provide input on policy decisions that affect Mississippi public schools.
The SBE is accepting applications from public school students who will be high school juniors or seniors in 2019-20. Through a competitive process, the State Board will appoint one rising junior and one rising senior to serve as student representatives consecutively in the initial year of program implementation. After the senior graduates, the junior representative will promote to the senior representative position. A new junior representative will be appointed annually.
Student representatives will be responsible for attending meetings and any standing committees or subcommittees to which he or she is assigned. Student representatives will be excused from school to attend SBE meetings as official school business.
SBE member Dr. John Kelly proposed the idea of adding student advisors to the board in May after reporting that approximately 15 state boards of education have successfully implemented student advisory programs. In November, the SBE adopted a policy outlining the criteria for adding student representatives to the State Board.
Students who wish to apply to serve as a SBE representative must complete the application posted on the MDE website. Completed applications are due on Feb. 11, 2019.
