Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 7 - Education K-12 › Part 2 - Establishment › Chapter 2 - Organization of the State Board › Rule 7-2-2.3 - Student Representatives of the Mississippi State Board of Education

Current through June 25, 2024
Purpose:
The Mississippi State Board of
				  Education (State Board), in an effort to include student perspectives on state
				  educational policies, laws and regulations, shall incorporate student
				  representation in a non-voting capacity by and through the appointed position
				  of Student Representative of the State Board.
The Student Representative shall serve as a link between
				  board level policy and the classroom. The Student Representative shall serve as
				  a trustee on behalf of Mississippi students and will be charged with providing
				  perspectives on issues of interest to students and ensure student's voices are
				  represented. The Student Representative shall be responsible for attending
				  State Board meetings as well as standing committee(s) or subcommittee(s) to
				  which he or she may be assigned. Unless invited to attend by an affirmative
				  vote of a majority of the State Board, the Student Representative may not
				  attend Executive Sessions of the State Board. Student Representatives shall be
				  excused from school to attend State Board meetings as official school
				  business.
Term of Service:
Through a competitive
				  application process, the State Board shall appoint one rising junior and one
				  rising senior to serve as Student Representatives consecutively in the initial
				  year of program implementation. The senior representative's term will end on
				  April 30th due to graduation. The junior
				  representative shall promote to a senior representative and shall continue to
				  serve for a second year and a new junior shall be appointed annually. The term
				  of service for rising juniors shall begin on July
				  1st of Year 1 and shall end on April
				  30th of Year 2.
Eligibility:
Students who meet the following
				  criteria are eligible to apply for the Student Representative program:
1. Any student who is a Mississippi resident,
				enrolled in a Mississippi public high school or charter school, and who will be
				enrolled in good standing in the eleventh grade (or twelfth grade in the
				2019-2020 school year) may apply. Confirmation of eligibility will be received
				from the high school counselor as part of the application process.
2. A student shall have an overall grade
				point average of 3.0 or above. Confirmation of eligibility shall be received
				from the high school counselor as part of the application process.
Upon appointment, Student Representatives shall maintain
				  eligibility throughout the term of service.
Application
: The Office of Educational
				  Accountability will prepare and disseminate an application packet to all public
				  high schools and charter schools in Mississippi. The application packet will
				  also be posted on the Mississippi Department of Education web site. Students
				  shall complete all application requirements and submit the application to the
				  Mississippi Department of Education by the deadline to be considered for the
				  program.
Application requirements will include, but not be limited to,
				  the following:
1. Student shall submit
				at least 3 recommendation letters (from a teacher who has instructed the
				student, an administrator, and other adult who knows the student but is not a
				family member).
2. Student shall
				agree to provide his/her own transportation to board meetings, activities, and
				events. Student Representatives will be reimbursed for approved travel expenses
				such as mileage, lodging and meals incurred while traveling on official board
				business upon submission of a claim to the State Superintendent based upon the
				guidelines established by the Mississippi Department of Finance and
				Administration (DFA) in accordance with Miss. Code Ann. §
									25-3-41.
3. Student shall have written consent of a
				parent or guardian, as well as the approval of the principal and district
				superintendent to apply for the Student Representative position.
4. Student shall have written confirmation
				from his/her counselor that the eligibility requirements have been
				met.
5. Student shall provide
				responses to the essay questions.
6. Student shall have the opportunity to
				highlight his/her extracurricular activities, community and volunteer service,
				work experience and academic achievements and honors.
Screening
: Immediately following the application
				  deadline, the Office of Educational Accountability shall review the
				  applications received to ensure all application requirements have been met for
				  candidates to be considered for an interview. Applicants who fail to meet all
				  eligibility criteria and application requirements shall be automatically
				  disqualified. Applications received after the deadline for submission shall be
				  disqualified. All qualified applications shall be screened as follows:
1. The Internal Accountability Subcommittee
				Chair shall work with the State Superintendent to appoint the internal Ad-Hoc
				Screening Committee(s) of five members composed of one Internal Accountability
				Subcommittee member and four Mississippi Department of Education
				staff.
2. The Screening
				Committee(s) shall review all qualified applications and rate each application
				holistically, selecting at least the top 10 semifinalists who reflect the best
				cross-section of the many outstanding students who apply.
Interview and Appointment:
The interview and
				  appointment process shall be conducted as follows:
1. The semifinalists shall be interviewed by
				the Internal Accountability Subcommittee of the State Board.
2. The Internal Accountability Subcommittee
				shall recommend no more than four finalists to the State Board for an
				interview. One junior representative and one senior representative shall be
				appointed by the State Board in the program implementation year. Subsequently,
				only one junior representative shall be appointed by the State Board
				annually.
3. The Internal
				Accountability Subcommittee shall document the next highest scoring candidates
				in rank order should an alternate(s) be needed to fulfill the duties of a
				Student Representative(s) during his/her term.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Upon appointment by
				  the State Board, the Student Representative shall, at minimum, fulfill the
				  following duties and responsibilities:
1. Attending monthly State Board meetings is
				required in addition to attendance of special called meetings or other meetings
				or events as requested by the Board Chair. When a school activity prevents a
				Student Representative from attending a State Board meeting, he/she should
				provide notice to the State Board Chair. Additional absences shall be limited
				to no more than two absences per fiscal year. Any other circumstances that
				would prevent attendance at the meetings must be reviewed and approved by the
				Board Chair.
2. Preparing for State
				Board meetings by reviewing the packet of board meeting materials provided
				prior to the meetings. A report shall be given by each of the Student
				Representatives at each monthly meeting and shall be submitted for Board Chair
				review no less than 10 calendar days prior to the meeting.
3. Attending a one-day orientation
				session.
4. Participating actively
				in the discussions of the State Board by listening, observing and providing
				meaningful input.
5. Working
				harmoniously with other State Board members and Mississippi Department of
				Education staff.
6. Accepting the
				will of the majority vote of the State Board in all cases and giving support to
				the resulting policy.
7. Developing
				a thorough understanding of current educational issues, State laws, policies,
				and regulations that directly impact Mississippi students and sharing this info
				with high school students statewide.
8. Serving as a spokesman for student
				viewpoints in policy decisions directly influencing students and communicating
				with students frequently. It is important that the Student Representative
				elicit information from students statewide and attempt to formulate objective
				opinions.
9. Participating in the
				selection process of the incoming Student Representative.
10. Serving as a mentor for the incoming
				Student Representative.
11.
				Preparing and presenting a report to the State Board at the end of the term of
				service that documents lessons learned and ways to strengthen the Student
				Representative program in the future.
12. During their senior year, Student
				Representatives may be given the opportunity to complete a capstone project
				that will be presented to the State Board and other organizations in their
				community and to receive academic credit for the project.
Miss. Code
				  Ann. §
										37-1-3.