High school students could have more power to sway school district policies and votes because of three School District No. 46 (SD46) motions that were carried at the British Columbia School Trustee Association (BCSTA) annual general meeting at the end of April.
Lori Pratt, Board of Education chair for SD46, said she was “very pleasantly surprised” the motions were passed.
Declarations regarding student voice and input at the board level will be folded into the foundational statements of the BCSTA. As well, school boards that want to increase student participation at the district level will now receive support from the BCSTA.
The BCSTA board of directors has also agreed to send an advocacy letter to the education minister and Premier John Horgan requesting an amendment to the School Act to allow districts to set up student trustees and student advisory councils.
Currently the School Act does not prohibit student trustees or a student voice, but does not explicitly describe the role. “It’ll come through as a clear direction. All we can really do is wait and see,” said Pratt on whether the letter will influence the Act.
This is not the first time the district has attempted to increase student participation at the board level. Five years ago the district brought forward a motion, but it was voted down.
“We had a 75-25 split on them in favour versus not in favour, which is the approximate inverse of what happened last time,” said Pratt, who worked on the latest motions. “The tide has turned quite a bit in the last few years, which is exciting.”
Student trustees are not publicly elected and so cannot vote at the board level. At SD46, they have traditionally provided student reports and raised issues that come through consultation with student councils and leadership associations.
“For us, it’s very similar to how you would put parent advisory councils in the School Act – it’s to guarantee them the space to speak.”
SD46 and the Vancouver School District are the only districts to have student trustees but others are considering it. In March, the New Westminster School District passed a motion that could lead to two student trustees at the board, including one Indigenous student. Earlier this year, SD46 student trustee Pearl Deasey and superintendent Patrick Bocking presented to the Nisga’a School District about student governance.
