CHAPTER 5
HB 74 – FINAL VERSION
2009 SESSION
04/10
HOUSE BILL 74
AN ACT relative to student membership on a school board.
SPONSORS: Rep. Boehm, Hills 27
This bill permits a school board to vote to add one or more high school students as members of the board and, when there is more than one high school in the school district, allows the school board to determine a procedure for rotating student representation on the board.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0318
04/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to student membership on a school board.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
5:1 School Boards; Student Member. Amend RSA 189:1-c to read as follows:
189:1-c Student Member. In addition to the school board members authorized in RSA 671:4, the members of the school board may choose by a simple majority to add one or more nonvoting student [member] members from a high school within its district to the board. [If the members of the school board vote to add the nonvoting student member,] The powers and duties of [the] a student member shall be as described in RSA 194:23-f. [Representation] In districts having more than one public high school, the school board [shall] may rotate the student member representation [on an annual basis, the order to be] as determined by the board.
5:2 High School Student as School Board Member. Amend RSA 194:23-f, I-V to read as follows:
I. In addition to the school board members authorized in RSA 671:4, a high school shall select, in accordance with the directives of paragraph II and the provisions of RSA 189:1-c, one or more [student] students from among its members to be [a] nonvoting [member] members of the school board for the district in which the high school is located. [The] A student member shall have all the rights of a regular school board member regarding school board business except the right to vote.
II. [The] A student board member shall be chosen by a simple majority vote of the high school student body. The student government of the high school shall establish procedures for the nomination and election of candidates. The student government shall also establish a procedure for any public high school student in the school district to petition [the] a student board member to present proposals and opinions to the school board.
III. [The] A student board member shall serve for a term of one year. The school board shall decide the date at which the term shall begin. Any student who will graduate during the term’s duration is not eligible to be a candidate and is not eligible to vote. The student government of the high school shall establish a procedure for filling any vacancy that may occur in this position. [The] A student board member shall serve without pay.
IV. The duties of [the] a student school board member shall include:
(a) Attending all school board meetings except as specified in paragraph V;
(b) Representing all public high school students within the district;
(c) Presenting to the school board specific proposals and opinions from students as directed in paragraph II; and, when appropriate, placing proposals on the school board agenda in accordance with the board procedures;
(d) Serving as a liaison between students and the principal, other faculty, student government advisors, and appropriate outside agencies;
(e) Keeping public high school students informed of the business of the school board.
V. [The] A student school board member shall be excluded from discussions and procedures of the school board involving subjects which are confidential under RSA 91-A.
5:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: April 17, 2009
Effective Date: June 16, 2009