How Students Can Help Build Better Education Policy

Overview & Synopsis

While students comprise the largest population of educational stakeholders in the United States, they are rarely included in education governance at any level. Although they are among those most affected by education policy choices, they are often left out of education policy decision-making. As of 2019, only 23 states included student members on their state Board of Education, which sets school policy. The majority of those students were nonvoting members, so their influence at the state level was limited. When it comes to education policymaking at the federal level, the U.S. Department of Education uses a few strategies to incorporate student input. When it is sought, student input often comes through anecdotal stories shared at roundtables or from internships or other student outreach initiatives. Importantly, students from low-income communities and other marginalized backgrounds should have a seat at the policymaking table because these are the very students whom federal policies purport to help. This issue brief discusses the importance of community-centered policymaking and outlines how the Education Department can most effectively incorporate student voice into its policymaking processes.