Appeals court upholds student-only voting for school board in Maryland

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a Maryland county’s policy of reserving a school board seat just for students to vote for is allowed under the Constitution, beating a challenge that said it discriminated against other voters, including students who attend private schools.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that while Howard County calls it an election, the selection of a student member by fellow students is more like an appointment.

That means the county doesn’t have to accommodate adults and private school students who said they should also have a say in that school board seat, Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. said in the unanimous ruling.

“Howard County’s process for selecting the student member of the county’s board of education does not constitute a popular election that requires compliance with the one-person, one-vote principle,” he wrote.

The court said the Constitution allows significant leeway for how officials are chosen through appointment. The only question is whether Howard County’s student member counts as an appointment.

Judge Quattlebaum said the county serves as a gatekeeper for student candidates, with schools suggesting candidates and the school system whittling them down to a list of two approved choices for students to vote on.

And he said the school board must confirm the students’ pick before the person can serve.

The challengers had said the process could create a double-voting problem, where students who are 18 and older but still in 11th grade or lower could vote not only for the student member but also for regular board members.

The court said that was likely to be rare and that the civics lesson of letting students vote was worth it.

“Howard County’s process for allowing its young students to participate in selecting the student member does not prematurely enfranchise them; rather, it provides a real-life civics lesson about the democratic process aimed at preparing the schoolchildren for when they will qualify to vote in elections held in Maryland,” the judge wrote. “And from beginning to end, educators — who hold positions of power over their pupils — hold students’ hands throughout the process.”

The Public Interest Legal Foundation brought the challenge on behalf of a private school student and adult voters.

PILF President J. Christian Adams said he was disappointed by the ruling.

“In America, you should not give someone or a group of people greater political representation than anyone else. In Howard County, Maryland, that is exactly what is happening,” he said. “Children voting for school board have greater representation than adults.”

During oral arguments, Judge Quattlebaum raised an interesting hypothetical, wondering if Howard County could designate a seat for a student, who else could it reserve seats for?

“So if Maryland decided or the school board decided that undocumented aliens aren’t adequately represented, constitutionally could a board member be selected by undocumented aliens in the town?” he said.

The county’s lawyer said that while that wasn’t part of the county’s plans, it would not violate the U.S. Constitution.