When the City Council Education Committee held a hearinglast week on the implementation of the new school governance law, it was the first time that student views on the law were heard by the Council.

High school senior Ben Shanahan and I testified on behalf on the New York City Student Union. Our message was simple: the changes in our schools' governance have been made without any student input, they do not recognize the need for student input, and do not provide an outlet for student opinion. (While I believe in student voice on all levels, I am mainly referring to high school students in this post).

The law focuses on increasing the power of parents and superintendents in the context of mayoral control. A new citywide Council on English Language Learners was added to the existing citywide councils on special ed and high schools. The special ed and high school councils were set up by the mayor and have now been made official under the education law. Each of these councils have between 12 and 15 members. Generally nine or ten of those members are parents, and two or three are people who have knowledge or experience in the field. The final member is a high school senior: the only non-voting member on the council. <!--more-->

The inclusion of a high school student on each of these councils is a step in the right direction. But it’s not enough. These councils have very little leverage in the first place, but a non-voting member has almost none. If there is no forum for students to speak to those in charge of our education, having a vote in decisions is essential. Additionally, very few high school students in the city actually know that they are allowed to serve. There should be more student members and they should be allowed to vote! The councils should be better publicized, and the mayor and chancellor should be held accountable for responding to the recommendations made by them.

It’s great that there’s a push toward parent involvement, which is especially important for elementary and middle schools. By high school, most students have a better grasp on what’s happening in their schools than their parents. We should be given an opportunity to speak for ourselves.

I would like to thank Robert Jackson and the City Council Education Committee for inviting students to testify at the hearing. I hope that this spirit of student involvement will continue throughout the creation and implementation of these new laws.