Leadership opportunities
In our schools, students don’t simply learn about democracy and civic responsibility — they experience it first hand. Contact your school to find out about offered activities.
The Hawaii State Board of Education, which governs Hawaii’s public education system, also includes a seat for a non-voting student representative who attends meetings and provides feedback on important policy issues.
Hawaii State Student Council
Students are elected or selected by their high school peers to serve on the Council, the voice of Hawaii’s 180,000 public school students. It meets monthly to discuss student concerns, and members also address issues before the state Legislature and Hawaii State Board of Education.
Hawaii Secondary Student Conference
Students who serve on their middle and high schools' leadership councils are invited to attend a daylong visit to the Hawaii State Legislature and district level conferences in the fall, where students get to identify, discuss and arrive at recommended solutions to major youth problems. The emphasis is on school problems that require the attention and joint action by the students, the Board of Education, the Department and the legislature.
Board of Education representative
Every year, a member of the Hawaii State Student Council is selected to be the student representative on the Department's governing body, the
Hawaii State Board of Education.