The deadline is approaching for Iowa high school students who want to apply for a seat on the State Board of Education. The department’s Mike Cormack says the student must be a 10th or 11th grader. He says they are looking for talented young people who are interested in providing a voice for students on the board.
Applications are taken and then the governor appoints a student to serve on the board. “The state student board member operates like any other board member, they get the same access to materials that the overall state board has, they participate in all the meetings,” according to Cormack. The only difference for the student is they are a non-voting member.
Cormack says the lack of a vote does not mean the student doesn’t get to give their input and says he serves as a non-voting member for the department for the state athletic association and says he still has a lot of influence on what happens. The deadline to apply for the spot is January 31st. “Application materials are available on our Department of Education website. Also, there’s been information sent to high schools around out state,” Cormack says. The student’s term can be one or two years depending on the student’s year in school. Find out more at www.educateiowa.gov.