A student board member is when a high school student serves on a local government board. This means they are a member of the board and help make decisions based on their opinions. A student is appointed by city council to be on the board for a pre-determined length of time. Typically, this student is a non-voting member. These positions are sometimes also called liaison positions.

Usually, the student serving on a local government board does not have the ability to vote. They are exactly like every other member, except they can’t cast a vote during decision making. This barely affects the experience as local government boards rarely make anything but unanimous decisions. Most of the disagreements are worked out in discourse.

Most of the time, student positions can be implemented into Downtown Development Authorities, Library boards, Planning Commissions, Parks and Recreation boards, Housing Commissions, Recreation Advisory Committees, and Zoning Boards.

The student member’s role is to serve as a delegate for their age group. The student should be able to consult fellow peers on agenda items and provide the city with a student consensus on topics. The student member should try to contribute youthful ideas on the things they think are important. It’s the student’s role to act as a representative to their classmates and communicate effectively with their community.

The implementation of student positions positively impacts communities. An inclusion of all age groups will create an environment where everyone will have something to do, for it was made exactly for them. The youth of the town will prosper unlike before as they will have someone who understands their “appetites” and can serve as a representative for them.