2023 New York Laws › EDN - Education › Title 2 - School District Organization › Article 35 - Union Free School Districts › 1702 - Board of Education; Election; Terms of Office.

§ 1702. Board  of  education; election; terms of office. 1. Whenever a
  union free  school  district  shall  be  established,  pursuant  to  the
  provisions  of subdivision three of section fifteen hundred four of this
  chapter, or, pursuant to the  provisions  of  sections  fifteen  hundred
  twenty-two and fifteen hundred twenty-three of this chapter, it shall be
  the  duty  of  the  meeting  at which such union free school district is
  established to elect by ballot not less than three nor  more  than  nine
  trustees,  who  shall,  by  the order of such meeting, be divided into a
  sufficient number of classes so that as  nearly  as  possible  an  equal
  number  of members shall be elected to the board each year, based upon a
  normal term of three, four or five years, as such meeting may determine.
  Thereafter there shall be elected  in  such  districts,  at  the  annual
  meeting,  trustees  to  take  the  places of those whose terms of office
  expire. Such successors shall be elected to serve for  a  full  term  of
  three, four or five years, as the case may be.
2.  The trustees thus elected, shall enter at once upon their offices,
  and the office of any existing trustees in such  districts,  before  the
  establishment  of  a  union  free  school district therein, shall cease,
  except for the purposes stated in section fifteen  hundred  eighteen  of
  this  chapter.  The  said  trustees and their successors in office shall
  constitute the board of education of the union free school district thus
  established.
3. Each union  free  school  district,  at  the  next  annual  meeting
  subsequent  to  the  effective  date  of  the chapter of the laws of two
  thousand  five  which  amended  this  subdivision,  may  submit  to  the
  qualified  voters  of the district for approval, the issue of ex officio
  student membership on the school district's board  of  education,  by  a
  student  attending a high school within such school district. Upon voter
  approval, each such district  shall  establish  a  process  for  student
  membership  selection  pursuant  to paragraph c of this subdivision. If,
  prior to August fifth, two thousand  three,  a  school  district  had  a
  policy  that  allowed  a student or students to be ex officio members of
  the school board, such policy shall be deemed to meet  the  requirements
  of  this  subdivision  and shall be deemed to have full legal effect. In
  any district that contains more than one high school, such process shall
  take into consideration the number of high schools within  the  district
  and  provide  for a mechanism which allows for fair representation among
  the schools. Such school district shall allow such selected  student  to
  serve  as  an  ex  officio member of such district's board of education,
  and, if so, provided further that:
a. The ex officio student member of the board shall be entitled to sit
  with board members at all public meetings of the board  and  participate
  in all board hearings and meetings.
b.  The ex officio student member of the board shall not be allowed to
  vote, shall not be allowed to attend executive session, and shall not be
  entitled to receive compensation of any form for participating at  board
  meetings.
c.  Notwithstanding  any  other  law  to  the contrary, the ex officio
  student member of the board may be any of  the  following:  the  student
  that  has  been  duly elected as student president of the high school; a
  student duly elected by the student body; a student selected by the high
  school student  government;  a  student  selected  by  the  high  school
  principal;  a  student  selected  by  the  superintendent  of schools; a
  student selected  by  majority  vote  of  the  school  board.  Provided,
  however,  in  districts  having  district-wide  student  governments  or
  advisory committees, the student ex officio member shall be selected  by
  the   superintendent   of   schools  from  among  the  members  of  such

  district-wide student governments or  advisory  committees,  subject  to
  ratification by majority vote of the school board.
d.  The ex officio student member shall be a senior at the high school
  and shall have attended such high school for at least two years prior to
  selection.
3-a. Each union free school district may  offer  to  the  voters  once
  every  two  years, on the same date as the annual school district budget
  vote, a separate referendum to decide whether the school district  shall
  allow  a  student,  as  established  under this section, to serve on the
  school board as an ex officio, non-voting member.