Request for Fayette County Public Schools to Endorse Efforts to Amend Laws to Add Student Representation

We are writing on behalf of the Student Voice Team and students across the district to formally request that the FCPS Board of Education endorse an effort to amend the laws relating to Superintendent Search Committees, Site-Based Decision Making Councils, and School Boards to include student representation.

We would like to thank you, Fayette County Board of Education and administration, for your proven willingness to include students in high level decision-making.  The past administration’s support of the District Student Council is significant and appreciated. We realize the district has always been careful to include all relevant stakeholders when navigating issues like these, and your commitment to doing this is why we hope you will be willing to partner with us and help lead the effort to expand the law related to the composition of school governance structure.

The Student Voice Team is an independent organization whose goal is to elevate the voices of students across Kentucky to improve public schools.  We seek to fill the often overlooked role of student representation in the education policy process. Students are the group most directly affected by the school governance decisions, and for that reason, we believe that when it comes to ensuring the best education experience possible, we can offer unique and helpful perspectives.

We recognize the steps that Fayette County already has taken in trying to include students in the superintendent search process; however, we contend that more can be done to consider the limits of laws in direct conflict with FCPS’ motto “It’s about kids.”

This testimony was written collectively by members of the Student Voice Team and presented to the Fayette County Board of Education. Andrew Brennen, a freshman at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and graduate of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, delivered the statement.

The Kentucky Student Voice Team is a statewide organization of young people who are co-creating more just, democratic Kentucky schools & communities as research, policy & advocacy partners. From 2012 to 2021, KSVT was incubated at the Prichard Committee, a nonpartisan, citizen-led organization working to improve education in Kentucky for all ages.