Seat at the Table, Voice in the Room: Making the Ex-Officio Role Count

In 2024, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation to require school districts and Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to appoint at least one student ex-officio school board member beginning July 1, 2025. While some may have viewed this as just another state mandate, our organization – Questar III BOCES – viewed this as an opportunity to ensure student voice at the school board table.

Unlike a traditional K-12 school district, where a student board member typically rises from the high school student council, this was not the process we could use to fill our student board seats. Questar III educates more than 1,700 students of all ages and interests at a dozen sites across three counties. Moreover, the state legislation required us to appoint three ex-officio members due to the number of districts we served. Looking back on the 2025-2026 school year – the inaugural year of this statewide requirement – our experience at Questar III offers a blueprint for moving beyond compliance.

The law directed each BOCES to establish a process for determining which component school districts would select student members for the BOCES board. Questar III used a blind lottery system to determine which of our 21 component districts would represent our region. We also determined that the superintendent of schools would select its school district’s student member.

It was important to give our school districts ample notice and time to select a student. We asked the superintendent, or a designee such as a principal, to have a conversation in advance in submitting their student’s name and contact information. We wanted to have representatives who had a genuine interest in serving – and that the students understood the role and expectations before they committed. We also wanted to make sure students had the opportunity to participate in available training through our state school boards association.

The danger of the ex-officio label is that it can easily translate to silent observer. To combat this, we had to set expectations that their role mattered. We directed our student representatives to provide updates and comments as needed – giving them a voice.

We helped them understand that their power lies in the "discussion" phase of the agenda. For example, if we discussed our artificial intelligence initiative, our student members offered real-time feedback. They shared how they use AI in school and out of school. When we reviewed safety policies, we asked them to share the student perspective. In doing so, their voices carried considerable weight with our board members. In essence, they have become consultants on the board, offering ground-level intelligence and perspectives that ensure that we continue to put students first.

[Students] can also bridge generational gaps, offering insights on issues like school climate, technology, and curriculum, while gaining leadership skills and engaging in civic development. 

Perhaps the most significant lesson from this transition was that representation requires a network. Because no single student can embody the experience of 1,700 students spanning multiple buildings and counties, we encouraged our student ex-officio members to act as a conduit rather than a sole representative. We encouraged them to gather feedback from their peers, which turned these seats into a two-way channel that did not previously exist on our board. On a monthly basis, our student reps bring their classroom realities up with the board, and board news back to their classrooms. This has been an enlightening experience for all.

As the first cohort of student representatives prepare to graduate in June, the verdict is clear. While the state mandate provided students with a seat, our process and preparation provided students with the voice at the table.

For superintendents who lack a student representative on their boards, I challenge you to view this as an asset to be leveraged. Student ex-officio board members can provide direct, firsthand perspectives on your district’s policies, fostering student engagement in governance, and ensuring better-informed, representative decision-making. They can also bridge generational gaps, offering insights on issues like school climate, technology, and curriculum, while gaining leadership skills and engaging in civic development.