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, etc. 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.

An example of the structure of an elementary student council may include a president, a vice president, secretary, treasurer, sergeant of arms, and historian. 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.[4] 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.[5] Compared to elementary school councils, junior high and high school councils generally have less people.

In some schools each class is assigned a class representative who passes on requests, ideas, or complaints to the student council from students in their class.

Student councils usually do not have funding authority and generally must generate their operating funds through fundraisers such as car washes and bake sales.[6] Some student councils have a budget from the school, along with responsibility for funding a variety of student activities within a school.[7]