“This council will provide an opportunity for high school students to take on leadership roles and advocate for youth in their respective communities,” Blackshear said. “It will also serve to better inform us as legislators.”
The council would be made up of 20 high school students appointed by the governor, serving two year terms. They would need to apply to be considered.
Meetings of this council would need to be virtual to accommodate members from across the state, Blackshear said. Legislative advocacy, advising the General Assembly and seeking public engagement and input to recommend legislation that addresses issues faced by youth in Ohio would be among the tasks for the council.
Blackshear said many other states have developed a statewide youth council led by youth, including Arizona, Iowa, North Carolina, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington, while many other states have some variations of city or regional youth councils.
Locally, two school districts have student advisory members. Dayton Public Schools and Northmont City Schools both have a student who sits on their board.
Dayton’s member can vote but the vote does not count towards the decision and wouldn’t break a tie.
Northmont’s student board member can vote for everything except personnel, but the vote can’t break ties.
Tony Thomas, Northmont’s superintendent, said he supports more youth voices at all levels of government.
“DPS is also a strong advocate for student voice and would be interested in having our students participate,” said David Lawrence, the DPS superintendent, about the proposed statewide advisory council.
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