On March 10, 2026 Hampton Bays High school students were officially sworn in as ex-officio members of the school’s Board of Education.
On September 12, 2024, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill that required every school district and BOCES to have a minimum of one student on the Board of Education as an ex-officio member. The bill was proposed by State Senator Shelley Mayer because she felt “School boards shape the educational experiences of students, but they do not always include the voices of the students they serve.”
The law went into effect on July 1 of 2025. It fully took effect this school year however, when application forms were posted. Seniors and juniors were invited to apply for the positions.
In the end the three students selected were seniors Kaden Nappi and Vasyl Datsyuk and junior Emma Schultheis.
When asked why he wanted to join, Nappi said, “I’ve always had an aspiration for politics. You know, I’ve been here my entire life. I’ve always been in Hampton Bays. I’ve seen students not really have the best educational opportunities and I saw the opportunity and was, that’s finally my chance to improve education and here I am.”
The application process consisted of two short-response questions and one essay. The topics of the two short response questions were “Why are you interested in serving in a non-voting, advisory role on the Board of Education?” and “Describe one current issue or area of focus within the student body that you believe the Board of Education should be aware of.” As for the essay, the prompt was “How would you collect views and feedback from a diverse cross-section of the student body? If your personal opinion conflicts with the prevailing sentiment or facts, how would you ensure your report to the Board remains objective, balanced, and representative of the student experience?”
The first meeting with the ex-officio members was on March 10, 2026. When asked about how the first meeting went Schultheis said, “The first meeting went very well, I was introduced to all of the members on the Board in which everyone was very welcoming. I had to sign a book and recite a pledge to get inducted into being a member. It was a very cool experience and I look forward to board meetings in the future.”
Each of the student members have a specific goal they seemingly want to accomplish. Nappi wants to address student vaping, Schultheis wants to increase school spirit and pride and Datsyuk wants to guide smaller decisions and give students a say in all matters.
The addition of ex-officio student members marks a big change to the way student voices are represented in the school and students will be able to make a big impact on the school community.
