(FRANKFORT, KY) – Applications are now available for positions on the 2023-2024 Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council (CSAC), a group that provides input to Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason E. Glass.
The group meets monthly with Glass and Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff to discuss how decisions made at the state level are affecting students throughout Kentucky.
“Kentucky has long been a leader in providing opportunities for students to be involved in discussing how decisions made at the state level impact their education,” Glass said. “Over the past year, student voice has offered meaningful and deep insights into efforts regarding school safety, mental health, school counselor services and immediate needs following the significant flooding in eastern Kentucky.”
Council members often serve in other advisory capacities on key education issues. For example, several council members were appointed to KDE’s inaugural United We Learn Council, one member served on the standard-setting panel for Kentucky’s new accountability system and another member shared direct feedback with counselors around the state on school counselor services.
Student advisory council members also worked with Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman on mental health roundtables and with KDE staff on a school safety project, which they will present to Rep. James Tipton, chair of the house education committee, at their Jan. 24 regular meeting.
The appointment to the council is for one service year, renewable for consecutive appointments if the student meets eligibility requirements. Positions are open to students currently in grades 9, 10 or 11 in one of Kentucky’s public high schools.
Students selected to serve on the council represent each of Kentucky’s Supreme Court districts. The council also includes at least one student from the Kentucky School for the Blind and the Kentucky School for the Deaf, as well as a student enrolled in a career and technical education pathway. Additional details are available on the CSAC website.
KDE is seeking students with innovative ideas and thoughtful insight into how schools and student achievement can be improved. Those who represent the diverse academic, geographic, demographic and various sizes of schools are encouraged to apply.
A committee appointed by KDE will review and score all applications. Top-scoring applicants will be invited to virtual interviews in April for a position on the council. Appointments will be determined by how well applicants communicate their ideas and goals.
Applications for a position on the CSAC must be submitted online by March 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET.