Student council

This article is about lower school-level education elements. For higher education institutions, see Students' union. For the racehorse, see Student Council (horse).

"Stuco" redirects here. For the construction material, see Stucco.

A student council (also known as a student union or associated student body) is a representative student leadership body commonly found in primary and secondary schools, and in some post-secondary institutions.^[1][2] Student councils are typically composed of elected student representatives and officers who serve to express student engagement, facilitate communication between students and school administration, and organize student-led activities and events.^[3][4]

The Japan Student Council Organization discussed student councils

Members of a student council wearing house shirts

Overview

Student councils often serve to engage students in learning about democracy and leadership,as originally espoused by John Dewey in Democracy and Education (1917).^{[citation needed]}

In many schools, student councils include representatives elected from individual classes or grade levels. These representatives—commonly known as class presidents or class representatives—act as liaisons between their classmates and the broader student council. Their role typically involves communicating class concerns, assisting with the organization of student-led activities and supporting council initiatives.^[5][6][7]

Class representatives are usually elected by their peers within a single grade level and may serve alongside other class officers, such as a vice president, secretary, and treasurer. While responsibilities vary by institution, class-level officers generally focus on organizing activities specific to their cohort, whereas student council officers address school-wide matters.^[8] Within many student council systems, students are elected to represent individual classes or grade levels, often holding titles such as class president or class representative. These councils exist in most K–12 public and private school systems worldwide. Differing those found in students' unions at higher education institutions.^[9][10][11] Other widely used titles include senior class president, junior/sophomore/freshman class president, student body president (ASB president), student council president, school president, school captain, head student, head boy, head girl, and prefect among others. The range of titles and overlapping responsibilities can create confusion, as multiple "presidents" may exist within the same school: class-level leaders represent their cohort, while school-wide leaders represent the entire student body. Despite differences in terminology, these positions collectively form part of the broader student council leadership structure.

Function

The student council helps share ideas, interests, and concerns with teachers and institute administrative authorities. It also helps raise funds for school-wide activities, including social events, community projects, helping people in need and school reform. Most schools participate in food drives, fundraisers and parties.^[12][13] Many members learn skills that were an extension of their formal education. Student councils operate in many forms. There are representative-based and modeled loosely after the U.S. Congress, or based on the Executive Branch of the United States, with a President, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and reporter. In this form student representatives and officers are usually elected from and by the student body, although there may be prerequisites for candidacy or suffrage. In elementary schools, there are typically one or two student representatives per classroom and one presiding set of officers. However, many secondary schools have one set of officers per grade level.^{[citation needed]}

Unlike a class president, a student body president (also called school president or student government president or associated student body (A.S.B) president) represents the entire student population across all grade levels. They are typically responsible for larger policy initiatives and school-wide leadership efforts. Working in the student lounge or student activity center^[14][15][16] The senior class president specifically represents students in their final year of high school or college. They typically carry heightened responsibilities, including:^[17][18] planning graduation ceremonies and events, organizing senior trips and farewell activities, beginning alumni networking efforts, and coordinating future class reunions.

An example of the structure of an elementary student council may include a president, a vice president, secretary, treasurer, sergeant of arms, fundraising officer, historian, boys rep, girls rep, and just members. These roles may be assigned or voted on, either within the student council or by the entire student body. They may also reflect descending grade-levels, with the president in the oldest grade, and so forth.^[19] Secondary school governments often have more independence and power than younger governments. Often a student government is overseen by a sponsor, which is usually a teacher at that particular school. Most junior or middle school student councils have a constitution of some sort and usually do not have a judicial branch.^[20] Compared to elementary school councils, junior high and high school councils generally have fewer people. In some schools, a student council representative is assigned to each class. That person passes on requests, ideas and complaints from students in that class to the student council. In other schools, the elected Class Officers are automatically members of the student council.^{[citation needed]}

Student councils usually do not have funding authority and generally must generate their operating funds through fundraisers such as car washes and bake sales.^[21] Some student councils have a budget from the school, along with responsibility for funding a variety of student activities within a school.

Class presidents are an example of how student councils function. Typical duties of a class president include^[22][23] leading class meetings and representing class opinions to faculty or school administration, organizing student activities, such as spirit days, school assembly, student orientation or fundraising events,^[24] coordinating class fundraising efforts, especially for senior year events such as school dances (sometimes Junior Prom), homecoming, prom or graduation,^[25] acting as a liaison between students and school authorities,^[26] and promoting unity and school spirit within the class. Some schools also assign class presidents roles in managing class funds, overseeing student service initiatives, or contributing to school governance. The term of office for a class president is one year in most schools. The student holding the office usually has the option of running again for the coming year.^[27][28][29]

Unlike a student council, which represents the students of an entire school, class officers typically represent only a single class. Whereas the purpose of student council is to learn about democracy and leadership, and to work in partnership with school management for the benefit of the school, the goal of class officers is to organize and facilitate activities for the enjoyment of their classmates.^{[citation needed]}

A common role in secondary education is the advisor, a faculty member. That person may volunteer for the job or be assigned by the school. Their function is to act as a liaison between the class and the administration, ensuring that the group's actions and activities conform to the policies of the institution. The advisor will work with the president when setting class meetings agendas to include all required items in a timely manner.^[30] The advisor should also provide encouragement, direction, support and ideas when needed.^[31]

Regional and national structures

Student councils can have institutional power as in Spain and Germany, where they serve a political force that mediates between students and educational institutions, or they can be elected or non-elected clubs dedicated to organising fund-raisers and events. Student councils can join larger associations, like in the United States, the National Association of Student Councils. In Canada, the Canadian Student Leadership Association coordinates the national scene,^[32] and in the United Kingdom an organization called involver provides training, support and coordination for the nation's student councils^[33]

A a functional equivalent of student body president in some systems, such as the UK, Australia, and India, is the school captain. A school captain is a student appointed or elected to lead the student body of a school, usually in their final year. The role is similar to a student body president in the United States and represents students in interactions with faculty and the wider community.^[34][35] School captains are mainly found in British Empire legacy school systems: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, India, etc. In some schools, the captain may also hold the position of head prefect. The role is less common in the United Kingdom, where Head Boy and Head Girl positions are more typical.^[36][37] Captains are often recognized by a badge or other symbol of office. They are usually responsible for representing the school at events, and will make public speeches.^[38]

Argentina

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria most of the universities have a student council, regulated by law and the regulations of each university.^{[citation needed]}

Canada

In Canada, the student council is used for helping the school with special events and planning other events. Student councils in Canada also act as a body to advocate for student issues like tuitions.^{[citation needed]}

Chile

Main article: Students' center

China

In China, the head of a class is commonly known as the “class representative” (班代表) or “class leader” (班長).^[39] Additionally, there are often designated student officers for each academic subject.^[40]

Finland

Secondary high schools, lukio, and vocational schools in Finland have student councils. They incorporate all the students of the institution, but their status is marginal, locally and nationally. Legislation demands that they should be heard in all matters pertaining to the education in the institution, but this is often not done.^{[citation needed]}

Germany

Main article: de:Schülervertretung

Student representation is very important in the German school system. Each state in the Federal Republic of Germany has its own peculiarities in the system, but they are by and large similar. Although education in Germany is a matter for the federal states, there is a Federal student Conference where all state student councils can elect delegates to participate and exchange views on nationwide problems that arise in education. Every school in Germany has a student council. In the case of major changes that affect school life, the student council must agree. According to the student council, every district or larger city has a District student council/City student council. At the municipal level, these councils deal with the school authorities and with the individual institutions, such as school offices, etc. Above this there is a state student representation in each state, where delegates from each district/city of the respective state come to exchange ideas. This body is granted extensive rights such as a budget of between €40,000 and €70,000 for material costs, but is also obliged to consult with the Ministry of Education when important decisions are made.^{[citation needed]}

Schools in parts of Europe such as in Germany and Austria, secondary schools use the term "student speaker" ("Schülersprecher" in Germany, "Schulsprecher" in Austria) for schoolwide student representatives and "class representative" ("Klassensprecher") for classroom representatives.^[41]

Greece

In Greece, student representation is considered the limestone of democracy. All public secondary schools have a student council which consists of 15 members: a president, a vice-president, a secretary and 12 equal voting members. Additionally, all classes have a separate student council which consists of 5 members: a president, a secretary, a treasurer and 2 equal voting members.^{[citation needed]}

By law, every school should elect these councils around when a month has passed since the start of the school year. The 5-member councils for each class are elected first, and about a week later the 15-member school council is elected.^{[citation needed]}

As of 2024, these councils don't play a role in school life. Their role is mostly to give suggestions to the school staff about the school and excursions, with no guarantee of them accepting their suggestions. In recent years, the votes of the 15-member councils have been used by students to close a school for a few days because of a dispute the students have with the staff (κατάληψη). These councils, and especially the 5-member class councils have mostly educational value on teaching students how to vote, and actual power is none or very limited. On average, a 15-member school council will convene less than five times in a school year, and a 5-member class council less than three.^{[citation needed]}

Hong Kong

Ningbo Zhicheng School International Student Council 2011

In Hong Kong, some secondary schools have student councils, while some have Students' Unions. Student councils are directly elected by the student population, and are formed by the winning cabinet. A hierarchical structure is maintained, with positions like Secretaries/Coordinators for internal and external affairs, Treasurer, Vice-chairpersons and chairperson. Student councils represent the student body, organise events and provide welfare for students.^{[citation needed]}

India

In India, student councils are rare in elementary and middle schools. They are established in many secondary and higher secondary schools^[42] and are most commonly instituted in universities.^[43][44][45]

Student councils in India may be elected, nominated or selected after interview (or written examination or both).^[42][46] In universities, they are elected by ballot.^[47][44][48]

Indonesia

Emblem of OSIS

The student councils in Indonesia are officially formed by the government and is called OSIS (abbreviation of Organisasi Siswa Intra Sekolah, Intraschool Organization of Students). OSIS, introduced in 1970, are legally mandated to exist in all junior high schools and senior high schools. Every year, the committee which usually consists of teachers and former student council members hold a selection process to admit students who meet qualifications to join OSIS, while the president is voted by students of the school. In some practices, the teachers can also vote depending on their own regulation.^{[citation needed]}

Iran

In Iran, each November since 1997, elementary, secondary, and high school students at each school in the nation elect between 5-14 Student Council members, which act as the main medium of communication and debate between the student body and school officials. The size of the Council at each school depends largely on the class size and school policies. Student councils in Iran mainly promote interpersonal and leadership skills, constructive debates between school officials and the students, and the organization of school activities and field trips.^{[citation needed]}

The student council body of the schools, cities, regions, and the national parliament are the same and include a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and some main members. There is also a "Student council of the Provinces " from among the presidents of the City Student Councils, and the presidents of these councils, who are 9th-grade or high school students, are several boys and girls who are representatives of their Provinces students in the "National Student Parliament".^{[citation needed]}

Each province has between 2 and 4 girl and boy representatives and these representatives are officially and legally responsible for leading and addressing the problems of students in their Provinces and improving the education system; The members of the "Student Parliament" (also called Student Council) in Iran are elected for a period of 2 years and during this period they have at least 2 official sessions in the main parliament of the country, with the presence of the Minister of Education and can express their demands and suggestions directly with the Minister of Education. Students and officials in Iran attach great importance to choosing a smart person and a very strong leader to represent their school, city, province, and country.^{[citation needed]}

Ireland

Since 1998 in Ireland there has been sustained development of student councils in post primary schools. In 2008 the Irish Second Level Students Union was founded as the National Umbrella body to organise and coordinate the national campaign efforts of the student councils. The Union is also a member of OBESSU. Schools and staff are advised to assist the creation of a student council under section 27 of The Education Act 1998^[49]

Israel

Main article: Israel's National Youth and Student Council

Israel's national student and youth council (Hebrew: מועצת התלמידים והנוער הארצית) is an elected body representing all youth in Israel since 1993. ^{[citation needed]} Representatives are elected democratically from district youth councils. (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Center, Haifa, Arab sector, South, North and the regional schools). The council comprises youth from the different sectors: religious, secular, Jewish, Arab, Druze and a Bedouin representative. The National Youth Council representatives mediate between Government decision makers and the Youth representatives. They participate in the various "Knesset" (the Israeli parliament) committees: Education, internal Affairs, Violence, Drugs and Science. Youth representatives participate in committees dealing with youth-related issues such as: children's rights, violence, delinquency and youngsters at risk - cut off from mainstream youth. Youth representatives also participate in discussions concerning matriculation examinations, discussing a national project on school trips, delegations Youth representatives youth, are invited by high officials, ministers and even the president and officials from foreign countries.^{[citation needed]} Israel's national student and youth council is the first youth council in the world that made student rights legislation. In 2006 graduates of the Israel's national student and youth council founded an association named Bematana. The association's mission is to promote young leaders who are elected as representatives in student and youth councils in Israel. in 2012 the Israel's national student and youth council held the International Youth Leadership Conference under the slogan. "Take The Lead!"^{[citation needed]}

Italy

In Italy, the rappresentante d’istituto (institution representative) is an elected student who serves on the school's Consiglio d’Istituto (Institute Council), the main governing body of a secondary school.^[50] This role was introduced by the 1974 delegated education laws.^[51] These representatives attend council meetings, voice student concerns, and may organize assemblies or activities. They also coordinate the Comitato studentesco,(student committee), made up of class representatives.^[52][53] Elections are held annually, typically in October or November. Students vote using the D'Hondt method, and three or four representatives are elected, depending on school size.^[54] Terms last one year.^[55][56]

Japan

The class system was introduced in Empire of Japan in 1885 (Meiji 18). It began to be implemented in large schools in the early 1880s.^[57][58][59] After the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, discussions on student participation and opinion rights increased, involving lawyers, educators, and forming tripartite councils among schools, guardians, and students. Student councils' roles expanded, although some declined.^[60] 宮下 与兵衛 (2016). 高校生の参加と共同による主権者教育. かもがわ出版. ISBN 978-4-7803-0834-1.

Based on alumni associations which were existed as high-level organizations of extracurricular activities, student councils were added to Japanese schools after World War II. In Japanese schools, students in a class stay together as a cohesive set in the same homeroom for most of the day. Each class has one or more elected representatives who reports to student council. The student council consists of members who are elected by the student body. The council is often responsible for organizing events such as the culture festival, sports day, and class field trips.^{[citation needed]}

Malaysia

In Malaysia public secondary schools student councils are usually run and managed by the school's prefects, also known as the Prefectorial Board. They act as the representatives between the students and the teachers. Some schools also have the prefects managed by a few groups of select teachers known as disciplinary teachers, or directly under the head teacher of discipline. Depending on each school's individual system, the Prefectorial Board either have open recruitment for any students interested but requiring them to undergo a year's worth of training and probation, direct recruitment via recommendations made by either teachers or senior prefects (usually students who show excel in their studies and activities) or both. Some schools have the best students from each class selected to be prefects. Positions such as head prefect (the equivalent of student president), assistant head prefect, secretary and treasurers are usually elected by students. Some schools have an internal election among prefects or have the teacher select a few possible candidates for such roles before letting the students vote. These positions form the high council or high committee. Secretary and treasurers sometimes come with assistants, either appointed by the position holder, the committee or they are voted just like the other members. Some schools will have additional positions such as 'Head of Discipline' or 'Head of Statistics' who themselves have a committee of their own to manage different aspects of the school.^{[citation needed]}

Those not part of the high committee are then given roles and positions based on their merit and skills to form different committees to oversee different aspects of the school such as club activities, moral enforcement, school events or even paperwork management. While a prefect's main job is to enforce discipline and be the eyes of the school, those with roles and positions have to carry out their specific duties while managing their responsibilities as prefects. These committees are headed by the high committee members who also have to manage the students and the school. Sometimes, class monitors (who also act as class reps) take part in discussions and meetings held by prefects to better engage with the students. They may also be included as part of the committees but as normal students. Each classroom also has their own committee consisting of roles such as class monitor, assistant monitor, treasurer and secretary to manage things in their own classes.^{[citation needed]}

While prefects enforce the school rules and assist the teachers, they also act as the voice of students when it comes to issues concerning the well-being of students. They essentially have full influence and control over school policies. However, as school laws are created by the Malaysian Ministry of Education, the prefects have no power in amending laws.^{[citation needed]}

Prefects in Malaysian schools can be identified by their distinctive blue uniform that make them stand out from normal students. Primary schools also have a prefectorial board by on a much smaller scale.^{[citation needed]}

Myanmar

Flag pole of a school in Myanma

School Council (Burmese: ကျောင်းကောင်စီ; abbreviated as SC) is an auxilliary service^[61]: 34 in Basic Education Schools and Education Colleges^[62] in Myanmar. It is the system of teacher-student joint council with House system under the control of the government, in which all the students and teachers of a school or an education college have to participate, and the principal takes the highest position.^[63] The School Councils are formed under the order and regulation of Myanmar government's Ministry of Education, Department of Basic Education (DBE). The School Council (SC), the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and the Board of Trustees (BOT)^[64]: 4 usually manage the educational activities of their school at the school level of management and administration of DBE.^[65]: 2 School Councils also serve as a body for special communication between teachers and students within schools.^[65]: 9 The School Council had been mandatorily formed since Ne Win's reign with various structures in each school.^[66] Founded in 1964, the original purpose was to organize school children for the agenda of Burmese Way to Socialism.^[67] In June^[68] and July 2013, school councils were reorganized, with many activities and the aim to build Democracy inside classes and schools.^[69] The Burma Socialist Programme Party wanted to organize young people and their first emphasis was the field of education where school children had already been unified. Thus, in 1964, the Department of Students and Youth Affairs was established which then formed school councils in every school.^[67] The Ministry of Education planned to reorganize the school councils before July 2013.^[69] The reorganized school council would have a general secretary, the houses' leaders, and even student representatives. The Ministry hoped that the school council would help students to learn leadership skills and improve personality, and would strengthen the unity of students.^[70]

In the first week of a new academic year, students are allocated to five houses (Burmese: အသင်း, lit. 'team/association'), either randomly or by drawing lots or by the management of the teacher. Each of the houses are named after a king or a hero and has a colour.^[71] But there is no specific uniform for houses. The houses are often called informally by their colours colloquially. Members of each of the five houses usually have to do duties, such as sweeping, on each weekdays that their house is assigned.^[72] School council activities provide students the opportunities to take part in enhancing school quality and making collective decisions about school developments.^{[64]: 77–78} Originally, there were only four houses, but a new house was added later to become five houses.^[73]

Typical size of flag pole of schools in Myanmar

The five houses of a School Council

အသင်းအမည် (House name)	အရောင် (Colour)	တာဝန်ကျနေ့ (Duty-day)
အနော်ရထာ (Anawyahta)	လိမ္မော်ရောင်(Orange)	Monday
ကျန်စစ်သား (Kyansittha)	အဝါရောင်(Yellow)	Tuesday
ဘုရင့်နောင် (Bayinnaung)	အစိမ်းရောင်(Green)	Wednesday
အလောင်းဘုရား (Alaungphaya)	အနီရောင်(Red)	Thursday
‌ဗန္ဓုလ (Bandula)	အပြာရောင်(Blue)	Friday

During the three Vassa months (ဝါတွင်း), all the Basic Education schools (both public and private)^[74] close on Uposatha Days (ဥပုသ်နေ့); 8th Waxing Days, Full Moon Days, 8th Wanning Days and New Moon Days on Myanmar Calendar; and open on Saturdays. ^[75] In this case, the house assigned on the Uposatha Day is assigned on the following Saturday as substitution. Usually, the houses have to compete with one another in many aspects and there is an award system.^[64]: 48 The flags of the houses are flown on the right side of the bar attached to the flag pole, with the flag of house that has highest score at the highest position and the flag of house that has lowest score at the lowest position.^[71]

Structure

Organization of School Council^[61]: 35

The School Council of a school is formed by all the students and teachers of that school, led by an executive committee with elected students and teachers, and non-elected president the principal.^[63] The Basic Education Law grants students the right to participate in the school council and educational development associations in basic education schools.^[76] The five houses of the School Council are formed in every class of every standard of the whole of a school. In each classroom, a leader is elected for each house in the class and a class leader is elected for the whole class. Among those leaders of each house, the representative of the house for the whole school is elected and the class house leader duty of him/her, who has been elected as such, is transferred to the student who got second majority vote in the election for class house leader.^[63]

All the teachers of the whole of a school have to become the members of the five houses^[62] in such a way as for every house has equal number of teachers, and each teacher-in-charge of each house is elected by voting. No teacher is allowed to take both the position of Teacher-in-charge of a House of School Council and the position of Teacher-in-charge of Education and Development Team of the School.^[63]

Different schools have different number of students and so they have different number of classes in each standard. But the number of members in the executive committee of the School Council of a Basic Education Middle School or a Basic Education High School is fixed to a number and the executive committee is not formed in the School Council of a Basic Education Primary School. Also even in a BEMS or a BEHS the executive committee members are not elected from primary school standards.^[63] A Basic Education Middle School has Kindergarten to Eighth Standard, but the students from Kindergarten to Fourth Standard can not be elected to the executive committee.

School Council Executive Committee of a Basic Education Middle School^[63]

Positions and holders	Number
President – the principal or headmaster or headmistress	1
Vice-president – a teacher	1
Secretary – a student	1
Joint-secretary - a student	1
Teachers in charge of 5 houses	5
Student leaders of 5 houses	5
Class Representatives	4
Total	18 members

A Basic Education High School has Kindergarten to Tenth Standard, but the students from Kindergarten to Fourth Standard can not be elected to the executive committee.^[63]

School Council Executive Committee of a Basic Education High School^{[63][61]: 36}

Positions and holders	Number
President – the principal or headmaster or headmistress	1
Vice-president – a teacher	1
Secretary – a student	1
Joint-secretary - a student	1
Teachers in charge of 5 houses	5
Student leaders of 5 houses	5
Class Representatives	6
Total	20 members

Norway

All schools in Norway are required by law to have a student council elected by the students. The aim of student council is usually to improve their school through encouraging social, cultural and other extracurricular events in the local community. The student councils in Norway are governed by a Board of Directors which is either elected directly or by the student council.^{[citation needed]}

Pakistan

In Pakistan, Student Councils are being introduced in many Private and Public Schools. Student council are playing an important role in Pakistani schools.^{[citation needed]}

A Student council in Pakistan may be elected, nominated or selected after interview or written examination or both, but can also be based on academic behaviour or discipline. Sometimes council members are elected based on general elections and if the teacher voted on a good student based on records and grades.^{[citation needed]}

Philippines

Main article: Student Government in the Philippines

In the Philippines, class presidents are part of a larger structure of student government recognized by the Department of Education. Elections are held annually, and class officers often coordinate activities, projects, and represent students at school-level assemblies.^[77]

Student governments of different schools throughout the Philippines are often directly elected by student body members of the class or organization which they supposedly govern with all positions (President, Vice President, Secretary, etc.) being separately elected, resulting in a wide variety of mixing and matching between different student political parties. Student governments in the Philippines are always called as the "Supreme Secondary Learner Government", or "SSLG" in short for all public educational institutions catering to Grades 7 to 12; while, elementary-based student governments catering to Grades 1 to 6 are called "Supreme Elementary Learner Government" or "SELG". Meanwhile, private schools whether nonsectarian or sectarian institutions also have their respective student council; however, they vary from form-to-form from their name to the function of the student government itself. The SSLG is called formerly called as the "Supreme Student Government" or "SSG" until the issuance of OUOPS No. 2023-03 from the education department which revised some of the student council laws and policies, in addition to the adaptation of the current name known today - the SSLG.

Aside from the school-based SSLG's, which is always present in all public schools under the Department of Education (Philippines); there is also a division-level Federation of SSLG's (a division is typically composed of a component or an independent city or an entire province), a regional federation of SSLG's (composed of all division-level SSLG's that are in a particular region of the Philippines); and a national federation - called as the "NFSSLG" or the "National Federation of Supreme Secondary Learner Governments" (composed of all regional federation SSLG's except the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao). Those who enter as an officer of a higher SSLG Federation level are typically Presidents who won in an election against their colleagues from a smaller subdivision (e.g. School-based Presidents of a Division compete each other to enter the Division-Federation and so forth...). SSLG Federations also have their counterpart, the SELG Federations - only for elementary student governments which follows the same process as the aforementioned.^{[citation needed]}

Singapore

In Singapore many secondary schools have a student council, which provides a medium for communication between the students and the school administration, a form of student welfare, and an important event-organising body. Some secondary schools name their student council like "Student Leader Board" or "Student Leader Committee", etc. They are usually nominated by peers and subsequently elected based on the decision of the teachers overseeing the student leader body. In Junior Colleges, student councils serve a greater purpose than their younger counterparts. They are given more autonomy in their planning and execution of school events.^{[citation needed]}

Spain

Most Spanish universities have student councils which are regulated by law. Some of the basic points are the 24% of student representation in the board. Each university council is elected by universal suffrage of the students.^{[citation needed]}

These are organised by regional students councils such as CEUCAT in Catalonia. There is a national students council called CEUNE, which is the interlocutor between the Universities Ministry and the university students.

United Kingdom

Student Councils (sometimes Student Voice, School Council, Student Parliament, and Student Union) at secondary school level are usually bodies nominated by teachers in state schools (and public and private schools without a house system). There are some regional networks between the representative bodies.

Many UK secondary schools operate a Student Council or similar body, typically composed of elected representatives from each form group and supported by members of the senior leadership team. In some schools, students in Year 12 may apply or be nominated for senior student leadership roles. These may include a Head Boy and Head Girl, along with their deputies, collectively referred to as the Heads of School.^[78] Other schools may appoint a School Captain and Vice-Captain, either as alternative or additional titles^[79]. The specific structure and responsibilities of these roles vary by institution.^[80]

Selected students in the final year may also serve as prefects.^[81] Prefect systems differ across schools but often include roles such as Senior Prefect, Welfare Captain, and various specialist positions covering areas like sport, co-curricular involvement, public relations, or community service.^[82] Some schools maintain a Student Representative Council (SRC) made up of elected students. Peer support schemes are also common, where older students—often from Year 10—are assigned to help younger students, particularly those new to the school in Year 7.^[83][84]

Furthermore, in England, some Student Councils maintain quite a hierarchical structure: the Representatives at the bottom, followed by the Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-chairman and chairman. This latter position is arguably the most important as it is down to this one person to run and organise the council, ensure relevant topics are discussed and—when necessary—remove members.^{[citation needed]}

In Wales, the School Councils (Wales) Regulations 2005 made the establishment of School Councils a statutory requirement on all maintained primary and secondary schools in the country. The regulations also require that Councils meet regularly, that members of the School Council are elected by fellow pupils by means of a secret ballot, and that the School Council can nominate up to two of their number to serve as associate members on the school's Board of Governors.^[85]

In universities, the student council is the apex body of the students and members are elected in systematic votings. In many universities, it also functions as an umbrella parliament for students' unions from different institutes.^[86][87][88]

United States

Aliso Niguel High School ASB 2007-2008

See also: National Association of Student Councils and Student governments in the United States

Associated student body organizations in the United States function often similarly to others. In most educational systems the council is considered to be an elective/club of individuals working for unity upon their campuses. The club fundraises, supports students, and hosts events such as dances.^{[citation needed]}

In California, public schools that receive state or federal funding are required to establish a School Site Council (SSC), composed of parents, teachers, students, school administrators, and other staff. The SSC develops and monitors a school site plan, aligns the budget with categorical funds, and recommends the Single Plan for Student Achievement to the school board.^[89]

The SSC president, who may be a student, is elected by council members and can serve alongside a class president or student body president. Similar councils exist in other states, including Texas (Site-Based Decision-Making Committees), Kentucky (School-Based Decision Making Councils), and Illinois (Local School Councils), among others.^[90][91][92]

The class secretary is a position in student councils responsible for collecting trash and recording notes. They help the class leader record information on the class members, including class attendance and enrollment forms.^[93] The class secretary is supposed to pay close attention to the details and are required to have strong communications skills.^[94] Most educational institutions that hold a class secretary position also have a handbook for the class secretary.^[95][96][97] The class secretary helps ensure that all duties and meetings run smoothly.^[98]

In popular culture

The stereotype of the class president has been featured prominently in books films, and television^[99][100] Common portrayals include the class president as a high-achieving, rule-following student—often either the socially popular figure or the academic underdog who unexpectedly claims the title. Since the early 20th century, the class presidency has also been used metaphorically in political allegory, including analogies for figures such as the president of the United States to roles for African-American women in the U.S. Congress.^[101][102]

In anime , manga , light novels, and video games set in school environments, student councils; and by extension, class presidents are frequently depicted, often wielding exaggerated levels of authority.^[103] These portrayals commonly reflect hierarchical structures or political satire within youth-centered storytelling.^{[104][105][106]}

Notable fictional characters who have held the title of class president include:

• Pedro Sánchez, played by Efren Ramirez, runs for class president in the film Napoleon Dynamite (2004).
• Zach Siler, played by Freddie Prinze Jr., is the popular jock and class president in the film She's All That (1999).
• Wilford "Wil C" Cardon, class president in the independent film The Rise of Number 45, produced by DJ Iggy.
• Jessie Spano, played by Elizabeth Berkley, is class president at Bayside High School in the television series Saved by the Bell.
• Ryoko Asakura serves as class president in the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
• Tracy Flick, played by Reese Witherspoon, runs for class president in the film Election (1999).
• Steve Holt, played by Justin Grant Wade, is class president of the high school attended by George Michael Bluth and Maeby Fünke in the series Arrested Development.
• Mizuki Kirimiya appears as the class president in the visual novel Yume Miru Kusuri.
• Courtney from Total Drama Island is mentioned as having run for class president before participating in the show.
• In My Hero Academia, both first-year classes of the U.A. Hero Course elect representatives. Class 1-A's president is Tenya Iida; Class 1-B's is Itsuka Kendo.

• Misaki Ayuzawa is the student council president in the anime and manga Maid Sama!.
• Medaka Kurokami is elected student council president in Medaka Box.

• Makoto Niijima student council president Persona 5.

• Angel Beats!
• Lisa's Substitute
• A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives
• After School Dice Club
• Angel Beats! 1st Beat
• Asobi Asobase
• Battle Spirits: Shounen Toppa Bashin
• Black Closet
• Block Z
• Bloom Into You
• Bully (video game)
• Bump Off Lover
• Castle Town Dandelion
• Characters of Persona 3
• Charlotte (TV series)
• Citrus (manga)
• Daily Lives of High School Boys
• Dragonar Academy
• Ebiten: Kōritsu Ebisugawa Kōkō Tenmonbu
• Flunk Punk Rumble
• GaruGaku
• Gokujō!! Mecha Mote Iinchō
• H2O: Footprints in the Sand
• Haganai
• Hanayamata
• Harriet the Spy (film)
• Hogwarts
• Home Movies season 2
• If Her Flag Breaks
• Jump Start (comic strip)
• K-On!
• Kanokon
• Kill la Kill
• Lady Penelope
• Le Péril jeune
• Love Lab
• Love Live! School Idol Project
• Love Live! Superstar!!
• Made (TV series)
• Majisuka Gakuen
• Makeover (Glee)
• Making Fiends (web series)
• Red Data Girl
• Missions of Love
• My Sister, My Writer
• My Wife Is the Student Council President
• Night of the Twisters (film)
• Omega Labyrinth
• Oresama Teacher
• Parfait Tic!
• Phantom Thief Jeanne
• Photo Kano
• Pretty Boy Detective Club
• Sabagebu!
• Sakura Trick
• See Me After Class
• Seitokai Yakuindomo
• Son of Interflux
• Sora no Manimani
• Stuart Farrimond
• The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends
• The Asterisk War
• The Girl Next Door (2004 film)
• The Secret Notes of Lady Kanoko
• To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers
• Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure
• Tsuredure Children
• Twinkle Crusaders
• Vixens (manga)
• Wagamama High Spec
• Wayside: The Movie
• Why the Hell Are You Here, Teacher!? - Saya Matsukaze (松風 さや, Matsukaze Saya) student council president.^{Vol. 5}
• Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches - Urara Shiraishi, the ace student at the school.
• Election (1999 film) - American film with Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick

See also

• Honors student
• Student voice
• Student court
• Student prank
• School uniform