Institutionalizing Student Voice Statewide

Freshman year of high school was a mess. In each and every class, I couldn’t help but feel like a nobody. No one ever asked me what I thought, engaged me in my opinions, or included me in the decision-making process for the school. Even though I was the recipient of all those decisions. Even though I had to live and struggle through education every day.

I noticed the many small adjustments that would make school better. Geometry lessons shouldn’t be taught on PowerPoint. Biology labs were based on poorly written procedures. English class overemphasized eighteenth-century Victorian poems. Pretty much all my peers were thinking the same things. But none of us spoke up or tried to improve the curriculum for next school year. We’re freshman, and freshman are shy. If somebody asked, we would have shared. But since nobody asked, the same lesson plan mistakes were repeated year after year.

Zoom forward to graduation. I had spent 16,000 hours in public education and 4,000 hours in high school, giving me plenty of time to think about how education could be improved. The same goes for nearly all seniors. By the end of high school, most of us arrive at the same conclusion: if our voices were heard and considered, school would have been so much better. We had plenty of ideas, but we never had the avenue to share them.

That’s why I’m proposing a bill in the Texas Legislature that would require school districts to include student input before any major curriculum initiative. The Texas Education Code already requires districts to include teacher input. I suggest a two-word addition: “and students”. The specifics of implementation are left to districts to address their local needs. Sponsored by Representative Jim Murphy (R) in the House and Senator Sylvia Garcia (D) in the Senate, the bill (HB1585 / SB1508) is common-sense and cost-free, with bi-partisan support.

If passed, Texas would insert student voice into more than 1,200 school districts statewide for five million schoolchildren. Texas would lead the way in creating a conversation between students and board members, so that our public education leaders are better informed about how their decisions actually affect students on the ground. Texas would send a message to students that their voices matter and that their opinions are important.

I recently talked to a student who was a freshman when I was a senior. Senior year, I founded the Houston ISD Student Congress, a student-run, student-led organization that represents student concerns to the school district administration. She told me that simply knowing the organization existed empowered her as a freshman. She knew of students who were taking charge of their own education, which meant that she could too. She had more confidence in class and was more willing to share her feedback with her teachers.

Her confidence in her education exemplifies why this work is meaningful, and she is an inspiration to me for why I must work even harder. Simply knowing an avenue for student voice existed empowered her through high school. Imagine the empowerment that would come from Texas students actually having an avenue for student voice themselves. Even freshmen, as flustered as they are, would feel that they mattered. And year by year, with freshmen feedback to lead the way, maybe we can fix Texas education.

By Zaakir Tameez