October 2015
Number 62

Effective January 1, 2016, Senate Bill (SB) 532 reinforces pupil governing board memberships.

Applicable only to school districts that operate a high school, SB 532 requires that:

• Upon receipt of a petition, the governing board must appoint a qualified pupil petitioner to the board within 60 days of receipt of the petition or at the next regularly scheduled board meeting if no meeting is held within 60 days; and


• In order to remove the nonvoting or preferential voting pupil member, there must be a public notice on the agenda of a motion to eliminate the pupil member, and the motion would require a majority vote of all voting board members.

Under current law, students of school districts that operate a high school may petition the governing board of that district to allow one or more nonvoting or preferential voting pupil members. Upon receipt of the petition, the governing board must allow the student or students meeting certain requirements to serve on the governing board and be recognized as a full member of the board at meetings.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines SB 532 contains costs mandated by the state, school districts will be eligible for reimbursement.

In order to maintain compliance with the new requirements under SB 532, a school district operating a high school should carefully review and update its current board policies and regulations and notify its current governing board members of the applicable changes.

If you have questions regarding these new requirements or other school district governing board obligations, please contact one of our nine offices located statewide. You can also visit our website, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or download our Client News Brief App.