School Advisory Council

Governance Policies  F. 1.0

Policy:  School Advisory Council Bylaws

ARTICLE I: Name

The name of this Committee shall be the Ánimo —— Charter School Advisory Council. Hereafter it will be referred to as “SAC.”

 

ARTICLE II: Purpose

The SAC shall review the Single School Plan addressing the following focus areas before October 1st for the ensuing academic year. The SAC will subsequently monitor the plan and applicable data, and if necessary, recommend modifications to the plan to reflect changing needs and/or priorities throughout the year:

A. Curricula, instructional strategies and materials responsive to the individual needs and learning styles of our students.

B. Instructional and auxiliary services to meet the needs of non-English-speaking or limited-English-speaking students; students with special or exceptional needs; and advanced students.

C. A professional development program for teachers, other school personnel, paraprofessionals, and volunteers, including those participating in special programs.

D. Build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement and develop and annually review a written parent involvement policy, pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (last reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act). The policy shall:

1. Provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist the school in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance.
2. Coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies [under Title I] with parental involvement strategies under other programs as appropriate.
3. Conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools…, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background), and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parental involvement policies described in this section.
4. Involve parents in the activities of the school.

E. Review of the school budget to assure spending in accordance with the goals of the plan. The SAC will have preliminary approval of the school budget for the ensuing fiscal year before the principal submits it for the Green Dot Public Schools California Board approval. The principal may make edits to the budget following the preliminary approval from the SAC and will advise them of such changes at the next monthly meeting.

F. Other activities and objectives as designated by the Green Dot Board of Directors.

 

ARTICLE III: Membership

Section I:  Composition

A. The SAC shall be comprised as follows:

1. The Principal or Administrative Designee

2.  Three (3) teachers selected by teachers

3. One (1) classified staff member/counselor elected by the classified staff or counselors

4. Five (5) parents, students, or community members shall be elected by an election procedure open to all stakeholders.

Should a School Advisory Council (SAC) decide to amend the recommended by-laws to offer a different composition, please note the following requirements:

• Half of the members of the SAC consist of the principal, classroom teachers, and other school personnel. Classroom teachers make up the majority of this group.
• The remaining half of the members consists of equal numbers of students elected by students, and parents or other community members selected by parents.

B. A list of alternate parents, students, and classified stakeholders shall be established before the second SAC meeting. Alternates will vote only if a regular member is absent. The alternate parent list will consist of the remaining members of the parent corps. The alternate student list will consist of the remaining members of the student council.  The alternate classified list will consist of the remaining full-time classified staff (office manager, school safety officer, and parent coordinator).  The alternate teacher list will be established from the candidates not successful in the general election in the order of their finish in the voting.  The principal may have the assistant principal represent him in absentia.

C. Elections

1. Elections for staff and students shall be held prior to October 1^st.
2. Appointments or election for parent membership shall be made/ held prior to October 1^st.

 

Section 2:  Term of Office

All elected members of the SAC shall serve for a one-year term with no limit on number of consecutive terms.

 

Section 3:  Voting Rights

The voting membership shall not exceed twelve (12).  Each member shall be entitled to one vote and may cast that vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the Council.  The elected alternate shall vote in the absence of the representative. Absentee ballots shall not be permitted.

 

Section 4:  Termination of Membership

A member shall no longer hold membership should he or she no longer meet the membership requirements under which he or she was selected.

Positions opened as a result of the above action will be filled by appointment by the chairperson for the duration of the school year using the list of alternates in sequence as specified in Article III, Section 1B.

 

Section 5:  Transfer of Membership

Elected membership in the SAC is not transferable or assignable.

 

Section 6:  Resignation

Resignations will be accepted upon written notice to the Chairperson. Positions opened as a result of a member’s resignation will be filled by appointment for the duration of the school year using the list of alternates in sequence as specified in Article III, Section 1B.

 

Section 7:  Additional Vacancies

If an alternate is not available, each represented group will be responsible for selecting a new member for the duration of the school year using an election process.

 

Section 8:  Non-Attendance of Meetings

All voting members of the SAC shall notify the Chairperson of an absence prior to the meeting. The non-attending member or other requested SAC member will take responsibility to notify and request from the active list of alternates, an alternate to attend in their place.  Students may consult with the student council advisor to find an alternate member.  Parents may consult with the parent coordinator or principal to find an alternate member.

 

Section 9:  Alternates

An active list of SAC alternates will be available to all members. The alternate list shall be comprised of at least one teacher, three students, three parents, one classified staff member and one administrative staff member to be selected as required in accordance with these Bylaws. When an alternate is in attendance as replacement for a regular voting member, the alternate will indicate this at the beginning of the meeting.

 

ARTICLE IV: Officers

Section 1:  Officers

The officers of the SAC shall be a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and such other officers as the SAC may deem desirable.

 

Section 2: Election of Officers

All officers shall be elected by voting members of the SAC by ballot at an election meeting to be held at the first meeting following completion of all elections as prescribed in Article III, Section 1, not to be later than October 1st. New officers shall assume their duties at the close of the election meeting. Should an officer resign before new elections are held, the Chairperson shall appoint a member in good standing to assume the office until the next regular meeting when the vacancy could be filled.

Section 3: Removal

Any officer may be removed by a two-thirds vote of all members sitting on the SAC whenever, in the judgment of the SAC, the best interests of the SAC would be served.

Section 4: Vacancy

A vacancy in any office because of death, removal, disqualification, or otherwise shall, be filled by a special election at the next SAC meeting for the unexpired portion of the term.

Section 5: Chairperson

The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the SAC, approve the agenda prior to its posting, and may sign all letters, reports, and other communications of the SAC. In addition, the chairperson shall perform all duties incident to the office of Chairperson and such other duties as may be prescribed by the SAC from time to time.

Section 6: Vice-Chairperson

The duties of the Vice-Chairperson shall be to represent the chairperson in assigned duties and to substitute for the Chairperson during his or her absence, and the Vice-Chairperson shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned by the chairperson or by the SAC.

Section 7: Secretary

The Secretary shall see to the keeping of the minutes of the meetings, both regular and special, and shall promptly transmit to each of the members, and to such other persons as the SAC may deem, true and correct copies of the minutes of such meetings; see that all notices are duly given in accordance with the provisions of these bylaws; be custodian of the SAC records; keep a register of the address and telephone number of each member of the SAC which shall be furnished to the Secretary by such member; and, in general, perform all duties incident to the office of secretary and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to the office by the chairperson or by the SAC.

ARTICLE V: Committees

Section 1:  Standing and Special Committees

The SAC may from time to time establish and abolish such standing or special committees as it may desire. No standing or special committee may exercise the authority of the SAC.

 

Section 2:  Membership

Unless otherwise determined by the SAC in its decision to establish a committee, the Chairperson of the SAC shall appoint members to the various committees.

 

Section 3:  Term of Office

Each member of a committee shall continue as such for the term of his or her appointment and until his or her successor is appointed, unless the committee shall be sooner terminated or abolished, or unless such member shall cease to qualify as a member thereof.

 

Section 4:  Rules

Each committee may adopt rules for its own government not inconsistent with these bylaws or with rules adopted by the SAC or with policies of the governing board.

 

ARTICLE VI: Meetings of the School Advisory Council

 

Section 1:  Regular Meetings

SAC shall meet regularly at least once per month while school is in session, unless the SAC by consensus that a monthly meeting is not necessary.

 

Section 2:  Special Meetings

Special meetings may be called by the Chairperson or by majority vote of the SAC.

 

Section 3:  Place of Meetings

The SAC shall hold its regular meetings and its special meetings in a facility provided by the school and readily accessible by all members of the public, including handicapped persons.

 

Section 4:  Notice of Meetings

Appropriate public notice shall be given of regular meetings at least forty-eight hours in advance of the meeting. Any change in the established date, time, or locations must be given special notice. All special meetings shall be publicized. Any required notice shall be in writing; shall state the day, hour, and location of the meeting; and shall be delivered either personally, by email or mail to each member not less than forty-eight hours prior to the date of such meeting.

 

Section 5:  Decision of the School Advisory Council

All decisions of the SAC shall be made only after an affirmative vote of a majority of its members in attendance, provided a quorum is in attendance.  Should a voting dead-lock occur, the SAC must reconsider the issue at hand, as all decisions of the SAC require an affirmative vote of the majority of its members in attendance.

SAC shall submit decisions to the Green Dot Governing Board, as appropriate, for ratification.

 

Section 6:  Quorum

A majority of the authorized number of SAC members then in office constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.

The Chairperson may cancel a meeting fifteen minutes after its designated start time, should a quorum not be established.  In the absence of quorum, the assembled members may vote to hold an informational meeting, but may not conduct business.

 

Section 7:  Conduct of Meetings

All regular and special meetings of the SAC shall be conducted in accordance with ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER or in accordance with an appropriate adaptation thereof.

 

Section 8:  Public Participation

All regular and special meetings of the SAC and of its standing or special committees shall be open to the public.  There shall be time allotted in each agenda for public address of the council.  Further, the chairperson may recognize public guests during the course of the meeting.

 

ARTICLE VII: Amendments

These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the SAC at any official meeting, and must be ratified annually.

 

Rev. 06/2023

Governance Policies  F. 2.0

Policy:  DELAC Bylaws

English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC)
District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC)
Bylaws

 

ARTICLE I

TITLE

Each school with 21 or more Emergent Bilinguals shall establish an elected English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC). Each school with 51 or more Emergent Bilinguals will establish an elected District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC).

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE

The purpose of the DELAC/ELAC is to advise and make recommendations in writing to the principal and School Advisory Council (SAC) on the implementation and evaluation of the school’s services for English Learners (ELs).  Committee members will participate in training that will provide the necessary skills and practices for carrying out their responsibilities.

The DELAC/ELAC shall be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Development of a district master plan for education programs and services for English learners. The district master plan will take into consideration the school site master plans.
2. Conducting of a district wide needs assessment on a school-by-school basis.
3. Establishment of district program, goals, and objectives for programs and services for English learners.
4. Development of a plan to ensure compliance with any applicable teacher and/or teacher aide requirements.
5. Review and comment on the school district reclassification procedures.
6. Review and comment on the written notifications required to be sent to parents and guardians.

If the DELAC acts as the English learner parent advisory committee under California Education Code Sections 52063(b)(1) and 52062(a)(2), the DELAC shall also review and comment on the development or annual update of the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP).

 

 

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Parents or guardians of Emergent Bilinguals shall constitute the majority membership (51 percent or more) of the committee.

Other Committee Members:  A good faith effort must be made to recruit membership from the following groups:

• School site staff
• Administration
• Community members or representatives
• Other parents (not necessarily of EL students)

Section 2: Each member shall have one vote.

Section 3: Every officer will be elected for a term of one year. All other members are encouraged to participate for the length of their students’ stay at the school.

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS

The officers of this Committee shall consist of a chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary. Any member of an DELAC/ELAC is eligible to be an officer of the Committee.

 

ARTICLE V

ELECTION OF PARENT MEMBERS & OFFICERS

SECTION 1: The parents or guardians of Emergent Bilinguals shall elect the parent members of DELAC/ELAC. Parents or guardians of Emergent Bilinguals shall be provided the opportunity to vote in the election.

SECTION 2: All officers shall be elected democratically through a majority vote of the DELAC membership.

SECTION 3: Officers will assume their positions following the conclusion of elections.

 

ARTICLE VI

MEETING

5 regular meetings shall be held during the school year. If fewer meetings are held, all of the legal requirements must still be covered across all meetings.

• The agenda and reminder of each meeting will be posted.
• All meetings shall be open to the public and publicized on the school’s website, notice board, and automatic telephone service (if available).
• All notices will be published in both English and Spanish.
• The meetings shall be conducted in the home language of the majority of the members. Translation into the other languages will be provided.

 

ARTICLE VII

BYLAWS & AMENDMENT

Section 1: Each school DELAC/ELAC shall adopt bylaws to identify functions and to govern meetings. The bylaws will be valid when adopted by a simple majority vote of the entire membership.

Section 2: The bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting with the approval of majority vote.

 

ARTICLE VIII

DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1: It shall be the duty of the chairperson to preside at all meetings.

• Be fair and impartial.
• Check to see that translation is available at each meeting.
• Attend agenda planning meetings with the assistance of other officers, the coordinator, and the principal or designee.
• Involve and inform the Committee concerning all school English Learner Program transactions and activities.
• Sign all documents related to the English Learner Program (with approval of the committee).

 

Section 2: In the event of the absence of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson shall assume the duties of the chairperson.

• Assists the chairperson in conducting the ELAC meetings.

 

Section 3: Should both the chairperson and vice-chairperson be unavailable, the recording/corresponding secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings, send notices of meetings and/or agendas, attend to correspondence, and send out publicity as directed.

• Maintain a roster of membership
• Take, read, and file accurate minutes of all meetings
• Maintain a roster of attendance
• Keep a notebook file of all meeting notices, agendas, minutes and handouts
• Call members as needed
• Perform other duties as delegated

ARTICLE IX

TERMINATION OF OFFICERS

• Any officer may resign by submitting written notice to the committee chairperson or school administration.
• If an officer resigns, the Chair (or Co-Chairs) can appoint another member to fill the position until the end of the school year.  If the Chair resigns, the Co-Chair fills the empty position.

 

 

ARTICLE X

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY

• The school principal will take responsibility for the proper functioning and implementation of the DELAC/ELAC. The election meeting must be held in addition to the regularly scheduled meetings.
• The school principal shall have the responsibility for providing appropriate training and materials to assist parent members in carrying out their responsibilities.
• The principal will also make arrangements for notices to be translated and for interpreting at each DELAC/ELAC meeting.

 

 

ARTICLE XI

SUBCOMMITTEES

Subcommittees shall be appointed as needed to promote the objectives of the English Learner Advisory Committee.

SECTION 1:

• The DELAC/ELAC may designate a School Advisory Council (SAC) to function as site’s advisory council for English Learners (Education Code 54425). The DELAC/ELAC may delegate authority to an established SAC.  Education Codes 52870, 54425, and 54733 provide that the DELAC/ELAC has first been duly constituted, duly informed of the option, and has voted to waive its rights and to delegate its authority to the SAC (not to exceed three years).
• This action shall be reflected in the minutes of the DELAC/ELAC. However, a DELAC/ELAC subcommittee of the SAC must be formed, and the subcommittee must make recommendations to the SAC on programs for English Learners.

 

SECTION 2: The process for delegating authority to a SAC must include the following:

• Elect a DELAC/ELAC with identifiable members.
• DELAC/ELAC members are informed and knowledgeable of their legal responsibilities before they vote to delegate.
• At a scheduled DELAC/ELAC meeting, discuss and vote by ballot to delegate the DELAC/ELAC legal responsibilities to the SAC.
• This decision is recorded in the DELAC/ELAC minutes.
• At its next regularly scheduled meeting, the SAC must vote to accept the responsibilities, record this decision in the minutes, maintain agenda and handouts, minutes and ballots, and a record of attendance in a secure location. These documents must be kept on file for three (3) years.

Clarify all DELAC/ELAC legal responsibilities to the SAC.  SAC members must be trained and must address all DELAC/ELAC responsibilities.

 

_____________________________                   _______________________________

Date of Draft By-Laws Presented                                   Date of Adoption

 

_____________________________                   _______________________________

DELAC/ELAC Chairperson                                            DELAC/ELAC Co-Chair

 

_____________________________

School Principal

 

 

 

Rev. 06/2023