On June 30, former Project Citizen students in Bakersfield, California, successfully petitioned the Kern High School District board to include a student representative. In a statement to Bakersfield.com, student Salem Palmer said, “We're a district of 40,000 students, but we're not represented well.” Addressing this concern, the students outlined the need to elect an individual representing students' interests in the district using the Project Citizen framework.

In their plan, the students carefully outlined the process for choosing the representative. Each school will select a student to serve on an advisory council; these members will then select the student representative based on criteria such as GPA or academic year.

The soon-to-be elected student representative will represent the student body at board meetings. Additionally, the representative will be expected to hold office hours and other responsibilities that allow the individual to represent the student body's needs best.

Both students and administration alike find that the plan can effectively address a need in their community. "I think having a student voice up here, representing students, will provide value to the district and us as a board," said board President Jeff Flores.