Howard County Student Board Member Has Voting Rights Judge Rules

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A judge has ruled on a lawsuit filed by Howard County Public School System parents who claimed the student member elected to the Howard County Board of Education was invalid.

The parents cited a vote cast by the student member that caused a 4-to-4 stalemate and prevented kids from returning to class for in-person instruction during the coronavirus pandemic. Their lawsuit against the board of education in December 2020 arguedevery member of the board had to be elected and be at least 18 years old.

But the court disagreed, citing the way the Maryland General Assembly wrote the law, which allows for a student member to be selected in ways other than an election. The judge also wrote in his filing that the age argument only applies to elected officials.

"There is no provision in the Maryland Constitution that requires that board of education members be elected nor does the General Assembly lack the power to create non-elective positions," wrote Howard County Circuit Judge Richard S. Bernhardt.

The language says the Howard County Board of Education consists of seven elected members and one student member. The statute sets forth residency requirements for the seven elected members and establishes their term of office, the judge wrote.

"The student member is elected to a 'term of 1 year beginning on July 1 after the member's election, subject to confirmation of the election results by the county board,'" the judge noted. "After careful investigation, this court could not find, nor could the plaintiffs cite, either in the Maryland Constitution or within the Education Article, a requirement that non-elected members must be over the age of eighteen."

The judge was specific in noting that his ruling only applied to the legality of having students vote.

"It is not for this court to determine whether it is prudent to have students with voting power on boards of education. Rather, this court merely must determine whether it is legal," Bernhardt wrote.

In Maryland, the number of members serving on the board of education is determined by the number of enrolled students in a particular county. The Howard County board is comprised of seven elected members and one student, who is voted in by the student body in sixth through 11th grades.

Other counties in Maryland with a student serving on their board of education include Baltimore, Harford, Prince George's and Montgomery.

The General Assembly, in the statutes providing for voting student members, has carved out areas where the student member cannot vote. Baltimore City, Prince George’s County, Baltimore County and Harford County all prohibit the student member from voting on school opening and closing. Howard County does not, the judge noted in his brief.