H.73

AN ACT RELATING TO A STUDENT MEMBER OF A SCHOOL BOARD

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:

Sec. 1.  16 V.S.A. § 567 is added to read:

§ 567.  SCHOOL BOARDS; STUDENT MEMBER

(a)  The electorate of a town, city, incorporated, union, or unified union district or the member districts of a joint contract district or a regional technical center school district which maintains a high school or regional technical center may vote at an annual or special school district meeting to create a position on its school board for a student member who may vote on some issues, or if a student member position exists, to remove the position.  A student member shall be a junior or senior student enrolled in a high school or technical center maintained by the district, shall serve for a term of one year, and shall be appointed by the other school board members following a process which enables secondary students to participate in the choice of the student member.  A student member may not attend executive sessions and may not vote on matters discussed in executive session.  Prior to a vote taken under this subsection, the school board shall adopt a policy which defines other matters on which the student member may and may not vote. 

(b)  In the case of a town, city, or incorporated school district, a student member shall be in addition to elected members.

(c)  In the case of a union or unified union school district, if appointing a student member is inconsistent with articles of agreement entered into pursuant to section 706f of this title, a vote to add a student member shall be held pursuant to 706n of this title.

(d)  In the case of a joint contract school district, a voting student member may be added to the board if each member district votes to change the contract to do so, by a majority vote of the voters present and voting at meetings warned for the purpose. In this case, the student member shall be in addition to the members chosen from school boards pursuant to subsection 572(d) of this title.

(e)  In the case of a regional technical center school district, a student member shall be considered one of the 40 percent of the board members who is appointed pursuant to subsection 1572(b) of this title.

(f)  Nothing in this section precludes a school board from appointing a nonvoting student member.

Sec. 2.  16 V.S.A. § 554(a) is amended to read:

(a)  A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum. However, if the board has added a student member pursuant to section 567 of this title, the student member shall not be counted as a member of the board in determining the number of members that constitute a quorum.  Notwithstanding 1 V.S.A. § 172, the concurrence of a majority of members present at a school board meeting shall be necessary and sufficient for board action.