How Local School Boards Are Quietly Shaping Your Daily Life

Akshita Kasthuri
May 27
2 min read

When we think about school decisions, we usually picture principals or maybe state laws. But some of the biggest choices about what students experience every day are made by a group most teens do not think about at all: the school board.

These are the people deciding what books are allowed, how mental health is handled, what graduation requirements look like, and whether your school gets new funding or loses it.

They are not celebrities. Most of them are not on social media. But they have real power, and most students do not even know who they are.

🧠 Why It Matters

School board members decide:

What classes are offered
Whether mental health programs are funded
How discipline policies are enforced
What teachers can or cannot teach
Whether schools close or merge

Their votes can change your school day more than almost anyone else in the education system.

📉 What’s Happening Now

Across the country, school boards are becoming more politicized. People are showing up to meetings to argue about curriculum, library books, and even history classes.

Most students are left out of these conversations, even though they are the ones most affected.

If students are the ones in the classroom, why are we the last to be considered?

💡 What You Can Do

Look up your district’s board and learn their names, roles, and how they vote
Attend a meeting. Most are open to the public and allow students to speak
Organize with others. Speak out as a group or share feedback from your school
Start a campaign. Some districts allow student board members or advisory councils

You do not need to know every policy to speak up. You just need to start paying attention.