COLLABORATING WITH YOUR SCHOOL BOARD AND

SITE BASED DECISION MAKING COUNCIL

Jackie R. Walters, MBA, RD

COLLABORATING WITH YOUR SCHOOL BOARD AND SITE BASED DECISION MAKING COUNCIL

I. The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA)

A. Summary

B. Provision for the Kentucky Board of Education

a. Membership and Structure

b. Responsibilities

c. Associated Organizations

C. Provision for School-Based Decision Making Councils

a. Membership and Structure

b. Responsibilities

c. Associated Organizations

II. Potential for Collaboration

Kentucky’s Constitution states,“The General Assembly shall, by appropriate legislation, provide for an efficient system of common schools.”

In 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in the case of Rose vs. Council for a Better Education that Kentucky’s schools fell short of this requirement so drastically that the entire system was unconstitutional.

What is a constitutional school system?A constitutional system must provide each and every child

with at least the seven following capacities:• Sufficient oral and written communication skills to enable students to function in a

complex and rapidly changing civilization

• Sufficient knowledge of economic, social, and political systems to enable the student to make informed choices.

• Sufficient understanding of government processes to enable the student to understand the issues that affect his or her community, state and nation

• Sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical wellness

• Sufficient grounding in the arts to enable each student to appreciate his or her cultural and historical heritage

• Sufficient training or preparation for advanced training in either academic or vocational fields so as to enable each child to choose and pursue life work intelligently

• Sufficient levels of academic or vocational skills to enable public school students to compete favorably with their counterparts in surrounding states, in academics or in the job market.

KERA IS BORN!

In 1990, the Kentucky General Assembly answered the challenge of the Supreme Court by passing the Kentucky Education Reform Act, establishing a statewide system of assessment and accountability that would be implemented by the Kentucky Board of Education, local school

boards and local councils.

KERA defines the goals for schools to achieve as follows:

• Schools shall expect a high level of achievement of all students

• Schools shall develop their students’ ability to:,

– Use basic communication and mathematics skills for purposes and situations they will encounter throughout their lives

– Apply core concepts and principles from mathematics, the sciences, the humanities, social studies, and practical living studies to situations they will encounter throughout their lives

-Become a self-sufficient individual

-Become responsible members of a family, work group, or community, including demonstrating effectiveness in community service

-Think and solve problems in school situations and in a variety of situations they will encounter in life

-Connect and integrate experiences and new knowledge from all subject matter fields with what they have previously learned and build on past learning experiences to acquire new information through various media sources.

Schools shall increase their students’ rate of attendance.

Schools shall reduce their students’ dropout rates

Schools shall reduce physical and mental health barriers to learning

Schools shall be measured on the proportion of students who make a successful transition to work, post-secondary education, and the military.

The Kentucky Board of Education

• In 1990, the KERA created a new state board for elementary and secondary education in public schools. By authority of executive order from the governor, the board’s name was changed to Kentucky Board of Education, effective February 1, 1995.

Who serves on KBE?

The board has 12 members.

The governor appoints 11 voting members:

– 7 represent the Supreme Court districts

– 4 represent the state at large

One member is the President of the Council on Post-secondary Education and does not vote.

Members’ names, addresses and phone numbers may be accessed by visiting www.kde.state.ky.us/commiss/kbe/kbe_members.asp

Members serve 4-year terms and may be re-appointed. The board chair and vice chair are elected by the membership at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Members must be private citizens, not employed as educators during their terms. They represent a wide range of professional and business experience.

The appointed commissioner of education is the board’s executive secretary.

KBE has four standing committees:

• Management Support

• Learning Support/ Learning Results

• Internal Audit

• KSB/KSD Oversight

Special task forces and workgroups are appointed as needed. Board meetings are held six times per year and are open to the public. Agendas are set in advance.

What does the KBE do?

The Kentucky Board of Education develops and adopts the regulations that govern Kentucky’s 176 public

school districts and the actions of the Kentucky Department of Education.

KBE Mission Statement:

To focus the efforts of the Kentucky Department of Education, local schools, districts and partners in public education, to assist all schools to meet proficiency by 2014 and to assure that each child is given the maximum opportunity to achieve at high levels.

Kentucky Board of Education’s strategic plan is based on the General Assembly’s goals for the Commonwealth’s schools and the 7 capacities of an efficient system of common schools identified by the Kentucky Education Reform Act.

KBE Goals:

• High student performance

• High quality teaching and administration

• A strong, supportive environment for each school and every child

The Kentucky School Boards Association

A private, non-profit service organization composed of almost 900 members of local boards of education.

KSBA provides advocacy, consultation, information,

professional development and district support services for local school board members as well as district and school staff. It is the

largest organization of elected officials in Kentucky.

KSBA’s direction is provided by a statewide board of directors composed of 27 local school board members:

PresidentPresident-electImmediate past president12 directors-at-large12 regional chairpersons

Members may be contacted by visiting the web site http://www.ksba.org

Who may be a school board member? State law requires a candidate to be:

• at least 24 years old

• a citizen of KY for at least 3 years and registered to vote in the district he/she represents

• a graduate of 12th grade or have earned a GED

• related to no person employed by the school district he/she represents

• involved in no contractual arrangement with the school district he/she represents

• not an officer of city or county government

Fayette County Board of Education-Consists of 5 members, elected to 4-year terms-Holds televised meetings twice per month-Invites the public to attend meetings-Allows citizens to be placed on the agenda by calling the superintendent’s office-Posts the agenda on the board web site by the Friday preceding the Monday meeting-Posts official minutes and board meeting schedule on the web site

KRS 160.345Provision for Site Based Councils

Each local board of education shall adopt a policy for implementing school-based decision making in the district which shall include, but not be limited to, a description of how the district’s policies…

have been amended to allow the professional staff members of a school to be involved in the decision making process as they work to meet educational

goals...

Council Membership

• Two parents

• Three teachers

• The principal or administrator

The membership of the council may be increased, but may only be increased proportionately.

SBDM COUNCIL MEMBERS

The teacher representatives shall be elected by a majority of the teachers for a term of one year.

The parent members shall be elected by the parents of students pre-registered to attend the school during the term of office in an election conducted by the parent and teacher organization of the school.

A school council, once elected, may adopt a policy setting different terms of office for parent and teacher members subsequently elected.

The principal or head teacher shall be the chair of the school council.

MINORITY SBDM MEMBERS

Schools having 8% or more minority students enrolled shall have at least one minority council member. If a minority member is not elected in a timely manner, the principal is responsible for organizing a special election to elect an additional parent member. Teachers may then be allowed to select one minority teacher. If there are no minority teachers on the faculty an additional teacher may be elected by a majority of all teachers. Term limitations shall not apply for a minority teacher member who is the only minority on faculty.

What SBDM Councils Do

• Analyze student scores and develop the Comprehensive Plan

• Develop and adopt the School Safety Plan• Develop and adopt policies on curriculum, assigning staff

time, assigning students to classes and programs, school schedule, use of school space, instructional practices, discipline and classroom management, extracurricular programs, consultation procedures, committees and processes.

• Decide how many people to employ in each job classification

What SBDM Councils Do

• Select a new principal

• Consult with principal before other jobs are filled

• Approve budget expenditures, including textbooks and instructional materials, student support services and professional development.

KY Association of School Councils

KASC is a non-profit membership organization. Membership benefits include:

-Savings on KASC tools, workshops and the annual conference, the state’s largest SBDM gathering

-Lobbying services

-Journal subscription

-Legal question and answer line on council roles

How can I collaborate with the school board or SBDM council?

OPPORTUNITIES ARE UNLIMITED!

Improved student health contributes directly to KERA

goals:

Increase student attendance rates

Decrease physical and mental barriers to learning

Improved student health contributes directly to KBE goals

High student performance

Strong, supportive environment for every child

(meetings are open to the public, and agendas are set in advance)

How can I collaborate with the local school board?

GET INVOLVED!

How can I collaborate with the SBDM Council?

GET INVOLVED!

Get involved with SBDM:

• Meetings are usually open

• Agendas are set in advance

• Minutes and agendas are generally posted on school web page

Help the SBDM Council decide:

• On the Comprehensive Plan

• About policies affecting curriculum, staff time, school schedule, use of school space, instructional practices, disciplinary and classroom management practices, extracurricular programs

• How many people to employ in each job classification

• On a new principal

• On the recommendation of other staff

• On new textbooks, instructional materials, professional development

How can I collaborate with KASC?

Exhibit at their annual conference and reach school councils all over the state.

Contact them about being included in their publication

GET INVOLVED!