Assembly Bill 824 (Bennett, D-Ventura), which regulates the appointment of student school board members to county boards of education, became effective on Jan. 1, 2022. The bill was sponsored by the California Student Board Member Association.

As originally presented, AB 824 mirrored the language in AB 709 (2019), which applies to the appointment of student board members to local district boards. Early in the legislative process, county board members on the CSBA Legislative Committee engaged in the analysis of the bill and worked with CSBA Senior Legislative Advocate Carlos Machado to bring attention to the distinct responsibilities of county boards and the distinct needs of the students directly served by them.

From the beginning, CCBE understood that supporting the goal of greater student participation was paramount. Working with CSBA staff, county board members met with the bill sponsors, the author’s staff, and Assembly and Senate Education Committee staff to advocate for language in the bill that would prioritize inclusion of direct jurisdiction students (i.e., court and community school students) and respect the sensitivity of student matters that come to county boards under their appellate jurisdiction.

In addition, because the number of students and the number of districts vary dramatically across all 58 counties, it was vital that county boards be given ample time and authority to adopt appointment policies and procedures appropriate to their unique circumstances.

Ultimately, as a result of collaborative efforts of all involved, the final bill addressed these issues.

The law does not mandate county board consideration of a student petition until July 2023. However, it also does not preclude a student from petitioning for an appointment any time between now and then. For that reason, CSBA produced a sample appointment process policy to help county boards prepare in a timely fashion. With a sample policy in hand, some county boards have already begun to create and adopt policies that work for their jurisdiction.

Looking forward, CCBE anticipates including the valuable perspective of students in its decision-making process, thanks to the efforts of all involved in the adoption of AB 824.