When it comes time for students to pick their next county representative, it’s a day like any other. Students stare at the ballot on their screens, skimming through campaign slogans before choosing a name they barely recognize. For a position so significant, students feel surprisingly disinterested. It’s a simple click, and then on to something more important.
Montgomery County’s Student Member of the Board (SMOB) has existed for 47 years, and serves as the Board of Education’s (BOE) student representative. Still, many students view the position as an ineffective figurehead, despite the real change they have historically created. MCPS students should not remain apathetic toward the SMOB but instead educate themselves on the influence that they hold.
Before becoming the SMOB for the 2021-22 school year, Hana O’Looney served on the Montgomery County Junior Council and was the chair of MoCo EmpowHER. She advocated for healthy teen dating and hosted a menstrual equity campaign, urging students to write letters to Maryland state representatives, which eventually helped pass Maryland House Bill 205, requiring public schools to install menstrual product dispensers in women’s restrooms.
Sami Saeed, the 2023-24 SMOB, said O’Looney bridged the gap between students and the SMOB.
“Before, if you were involved and in the know, you knew what the SMOB was doing,” Saeed said. “If not, that wasn’t the case. Hana broke that precedent by being incredibly active on social media, increasing engagement in elections, and I really [built] off her work.”
Like O’Looney, Saeed also took important strides during his term. In 2024, he helped pass an amended homework policy requiring teachers to provide class time for homework rather than assigning it over the weekend. Saeed also proposed a policy requiring that students show their school-issued IDs before entering a school building, which the County Council later passed.
Even though the SMOB introduces effective resolutions and policies, many students are unaware that the SMOB was responsible for these changes in the first place. Students are often left in the dark about how the SMOB’s work benefits them, which leads to a common idea that the SMOB gets nothing done.
Sophomore Madigan Rowles said she’s only heard of the SMOB installing menstrual products in women’s restrooms, and even then, promises remain unfulfilled. She added that O’Looney’s menstrual advocacy was memorable, but because some schools don’t refill products frequently, it’s hard to appreciate.
The SMOB is typically active on social media since it’s a valuable way to connect with students. However, Rowles said the strategy is not as effective as it appears.
“The SMOB could be expanding their communication and being more in schools, building trust and putting more of an effort in, instead of posting random, kind of unhelpful things online,” Rowles said.
During Saeed’s term, the BOE faced backlash over its opt-out policy regarding curricula with LGBTQ+ themes. The case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, ultimately reached the Supreme Court.
Later, after concerns circulated surrounding MCPS’s handling of a sexual misconduct case, former Superintendent Monifa McKnight resigned.
These events caused a decline in the public’s trust in the BOE, and accordingly, Saeed said, adult board members became more cautious about accepting new ideas from the SMOB.
“They didn’t want to add anything else to their plate that could potentially hurt them in the long run, which is very different now,” Saeed said.
Sophomore Ilona Agur has been an MCPS student for five years and said her understanding of the SMOB’s accomplishments has decreased. She felt the SMOB was achieving more when she was in middle school, but now she is unsure as to what they contribute.
“I wish I could be able to see their changes a little more at my school, and credit that to them.” Agur said. “I don’t know what they are accomplishing versus what the school district is accomplishing.”
For students like Agur, many of the changes the SMOBs effect aren’t seen, but significantly impact students’ way of life. Praneel Suvarna, the 2024-25 SMOB, said he negotiated with the BOE over their harsh grading policy that required students submit late work 10 days before interims, persuading them to reduce the number to five days instead.
“A lot of the work of the SMOB is done behind closed doors and gives students a better experience, but you might not see it,” Suvarna said.
Both Saeed and Suvarna said they communicate with students through content on Instagram, the SMOB Advisory Council — a group of students the SMOB selects to help them carry out their policies — and the SMOB Monthly Minute, a short video listing the BOE’s accomplishments each month.
The SMOB sends the Monthly Minute, along with other videos covering their policies, to every MCPS principal. However, it is up to the principal whether to air the video in the school. Schools should provide easy access to learn about the SMOB by displaying the SMOB’s videos during free periods or designated class time. During Survana’s time as SMOB, only certain schools chose to show his videos.
“MCPS is huge: 160,000 students, a $3.5 billion budget and over 20,000 employees,” Suvarna said. “Trying to get media distribution across the entire system is very difficult.”
Saeed and Survana also said that if a student would like more details about their progress, they should message them. However, senior Ethan Stearns said it shouldn’t be the students’ responsibility to check on the SMOB continuously.
“Their responsibility as a politician is to tell people,” Stearns said. “It’s not on the person to go out and learn.”
Students can also advocate for their community through the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association, which represents students with general assemblies, executive board meetings and task forces.
It is in the SMOB’s best interest to provide easier ways for the students to interact with them, such as pushing school administrators to show their videos. Along with that, students should be more aware of events occurring around the MCPS Board of Education, and MCPS schools’ administrations should stay in touch with SMOB delegates to share important information with students.
The SMOB may seem detached from the same students they’re tasked with representing, but if communication issues are solved, MCPS students can fully reap the benefits that SMOBs advocate for.
“One of my biggest goals was trying to be a representative for the average student,” Saeed said. “I wanted to reach out to the students who weren’t already involved, but still had issues they wanted fixed in their schools.”
