California Student Board Member Association

The first part of this has to do with a student board member representing their constituents. Communication through our organization allows Student Board Members to work with one another, and learn valuable information from the experiences of others. This plays a critical role in the expansion of ideas. An example of this can be found in movements to make school districts 100% renewable energy. There are currently multiple school districts in California that have implemented this. Our organization could ensure that student board members were connected, thus allowing them to carry out these progressive plans. Another important part of representation that we tackle is how best to work with your school board. Oftentimes it can be intimidating and scary to complete this job. Student Board Members are expected to express the opinions of thousands of  students without being given training, or understanding what a school board actually does. Our organization would ensure that Student Board Members are sharing personal experiences and successes on how to make partnerships with other members. This allows student board members to quickly become effective and essential to the school board process. In addition, this collaboration allows for student board members to have more rights on the board of education. Across California there is a big difference in regards to what a Student Board Member can actually do. Some have the rights to participate in the meetings and make motions, and others only give a sports report on their high school. This is definitely an issue as state law provides that student board members can fully participate and make motions. By being an entity of Student Board Members, we would work to change this narrative, and expand the rights of students on boards of education. 

​

 

 

The second focus of CSBMA is statewide youth advocacy. Education legislation is often written without the consultation of students, and leaves out the students being affected by it. Our organization would be the only entity representing elected and appointed students in the state, which would allow our lobbying and advocacy efforts to represent all students. Our ideas would come from student board members at the local level, and our process would allow these ideas to be discussed and vetted by a united group of student board members. It could then be advocated for at a statewide level. The idea is that legislators would see legislation brought forth by our organization, and know that it had the backing of California students. This connection would ensure that some of California’s most vulnerable students have a way to make an impact.

​

​

 

The third focus of CSBMA is the expansion of student board members across the state. There are over 900 school districts in the State of California. Of those school districts, hundreds of them do not even have student board members. Many do not realize that a student is even allowed to serve on a Board of Education. Our organization would change this through our advocacy. With a large number of student board members we could use our statewide network to identify student leaders within their respective school districts. We would provide student leaders with the necessary resources and support to demand change. These actions would help us further our mission of empowering student agency through school board engagement. 

 

The founders and brainchilds of this organization include Zachary Patterson, the student board member of San Diego Unified School District (second largest school district in California), Brenna Pangelinan, the student board member on the California State Board of Education, Alvin Lee, the Executive Director of GENup, and Frances Suavillo, the student board of Los Angeles Unified School District (second largest school district in the U.S.). Along with these members, there is an executive team of ten student board members, and we are currently connecting with over a dozen other districts.