School Council By-Laws (updated 8/2003)
Apollo High School
ARTICLE
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of the Apollo
High School Council is to address
the academic, social and
emotional needs of our students in order to set
school policy that will
enhance student achievement and help each student
meet the goals established
by the school council, consistent with state
law. The school council
will assess, monitor, and evaluate the policies
and programs of Apollo
High School.
The faculty and staff of Apollo High
School believe all students can learn.
We are committed to preparing
all students for the transition from high school
to adulthood as responsible
citizens. We shall accomplish this through academic
excellence in all subject
areas, while fostering positive growth in social/emotional
behaviors and attitudes.
ARTICLE
III. MEMBERSHIP
A. COMPOSITION
1. The school council
shall consist of the principal, three teacher
members, and two parent
members. Two ex-officio members will also serve
on the council. The student
council will select one member to serve for the
school year and the support
staff will select a representative by majority vote.
This representative will
serve a two year term.
2. If the school reaches
8 percent or more minority student
enrollment, and there is
no minority elected in the initial elections, a
special election shall
be conducted by the principal to elect a minority
parent to serve on the
school council.
3. In the event a
special election is needed, a minority teacher from
the school’s staff
shall be elected by the teachers. If there are no
minority teachers on staff
at the school, the teachers shall elect a
non-minority teacher to
represent the interests of the minority students
in the school.
4. If there is a minority
teacher on staff and he or she does not
wish to serve on the council,
the seat shall remain vacant until filled by
a minority teacher.
B. REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP
1. All Members: No
one may serve on the school council who has a
business interest in the
school as designated by KRS 45A.340. New members
(those with less than one
year of service) must complete six (6) hours of
training from a Kentucky
Department of Education endorsed trainer.
Experienced members (those
with more than one year of service) must
complete three (3) hours
of training from a Kentucky Department of
Education endorsed training
provider each year. In the event the council
must select a principal,
the council is required by law to obtain training
in the recruitment and
interviewing prior to beginning the principal
selection process.
2. Teacher Members: Teacher
council members must possess
certification required
for their position as a basis for employment in
Kentucky public schools.
Itinerant teachers may nominate, serve, and vote
in our school. Counselors
may serve as teacher council members.
Principals or assistant
principals may not serve as teacher council
members, nor vote in teacher
elections.
3. Parent Members:.
The legal definition of parent (KRS 160.345
1.d.) allows biological
parents, stepparents, foster parents, or persons
who have court ordered
legal custody to be nominated or to vote.
According to the law, parents
who are nominated or who wish to vote must
have a child “preregistered
to attend” the school for next year. If a
child is in middle school
this year and will attend our school next year, the
parents of that child would
be eligible to be nominated, or vote in the
election for next year’s
school council.
Parent council members
cannot be employed in or be related to someone who
is employed in the school
or in the district administrative offices. An
Attorney General's Opinion
[OAG 90-102] says that "relative" as used in
this section should have
the same definition found in KRS 160.180 and KRS
160.380 that applies to
school boards. This means that a parent who is a
"father, mother, brother,
sister, husband, wife, son, daughter, aunt,
uncle, son-in-law or daughter-in-law"
of someone who works at the school
or in the district administrative
offices could not be a parent council
member. Parent members
cannot be a board member or a board member’s
spouse, nor can they have
a business interest in the school.
1. Parent Members: Parents
conduct their own elections as per KRS
160.345. Annual elections
shall be conducted each April by the school’s PTSO
for the purpose of electing
two parent council members. Parent elections
may be by plurality vote
(two parents with the highest number of votes)
unless PTSO bylaws require
a majority vote. The president of the PTSO shall
notify the principal in
writing of the two parents elected within 24 hours
of the final vote, and
shall deliver all election materials to the
principal the next business
day after the election.
2. Teacher Members: Teachers
conduct their own elections as per KRS
160.345. Annual elections
shall be conducted each April for the purpose of
electing three teacher
council members. Teacher members must be elected by
a simple majority (one
half plus one) of the number of teachers assigned
to the school. The process
that teachers may use to elect their
representatives should
address the following areas:
a. Nomination
b. Preparation of
Ballot
c. Elections
d. Absentee Ballots
e. Procedures after
First Round Ballots
f. Delivery of election
materials to the principal the next business
day after the election
g. Term Limits: School
council members can serve an unlimited number
of terms as long as they
meet the eligibility requirements.
3. Principal Role in SBDM
Elections:
Other than conducting the
election for the minority teacher and parent
members in the event the
school is required to do that, principals are not
given a role by statute
in school council elections. Principals can assist
the teachers or parents
if requested to do so with logistics such as
opening the building, providing
space in the building, and assisting PTSO
and teachers with communicating
election meeting times and dates.
Principals should not be
involved in setting or monitoring election
procedures, nominations,
balloting, or counting votes. The principal is
the custodian of records
for the school, and must keep the official
records from the parent
and teacher elections for at least three years.
1. According to KRS 156.132,
the commissioner of education may
recommend removal of a
school council member whom he has reason to believe
is guilty of immorality,
misconduct in office, incompetence, willful
neglect of duty, or nonfeasance.
2. A member of a school
council may be removed from the council for
cause, after an opportunity
for hearing before the local board, by a vote
of 4/5 of the membership
of the board of education after the
recommendation of the commissioner
of education pursuant to KRS 156.132.
Written notices setting
out the charges for removal shall be spread on the
minutes of the board and
given to the member of the school council. KRS
160.347
If a member of the council resigns or
is removed from office, another
member shall be elected
in a special election held not more than one month
after the vacancy occurs.
The person elected in the special election shall
serve the remainder of
the term until May 31, and be eligible for
re-election.
The terms of parent and teacher members
shall begin on June 1 and end on
May 31. Between the date
of the elections and June 1, members-elect are
expected to attend all
council meetings.
ARTICLE IV. DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND
COUNCIL MEMBERS
A. ELECTION OF OFFICERS
1. Officers shall include Chair, Vice
Chair, and Secretary.
2. The vice chair of
the school council shall be elected each June by
council members and shall
serve for one year. Re-election is permitted.
3. Except for the office
of secretary, if a vice chair resigns his or
her position, the council
shall conduct a vote at that meeting to fill the
position with another council
member.
4. A motion to seek an
alternative model allowing a council member
other than the principal
to serve as chair may be made by any council
member at any regular meeting.
A majority vote of the full council is
required before an alternative
model can be sought by the school council.
A faculty vote must then
be conducted, and the motion must pass by 2/3 in
order to proceed with the
model.
B. CHAIR
The principal shall be the chairperson
of the school council.
Duties of the chair include:
1. Conducting school
council meetings
2. Compiling and
distributing the agenda for council meetings
3. Serving as official
custodian of council records
4. Stating when
a consensus is present for the record
5. Coordinating
standing and ad hoc committees
6. Carrying out
any additional responsibilities as stated in these
by-laws
7. Maintaining
a file of all correspondence addressed to the school
council (these
records may only be discarded after having been brought to
two council meetings)
8. Other duties
as described in these by-laws
C. VICE-CHAIR
Duties of the vice-chair
shall include:
1. Presiding over
council meetings in the absence of the chair
2. Calling a special
meeting of the council in the event a principal
vacancy occurs
3. Conducting meetings
necessary for the principal hiring process to
take place
A council secretary shall be appointed
by the principal to keep minutes of
all council meetings and
to maintain council records. The council secretary shall be
paid overtime.
Duties of council members include:
1. Knowing and
adhering to the mission, philosophy, and goals of
Apollo High
School
2. Attending all
council meetings, both regular and special
3. Encouraging
and requesting opinions from their constituencies
4. Supporting,
promoting, and communicating council decisions
5. Seeking information
independently and as needed about issues
brought before
the school council, and bringing that information to the
council
ARTICLE V. COMMITTEES
A. PURPOSE
1. Standing and ad hoc committees
are established to gain input from
all stakeholders including
certified and classified staff parents,
students, and community
member.
2. Standing and ad hoc
committees shall serve as a council resource
for gathering data and
information and making recommendations to the
school council.
B. APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEES
1. Standing and ad hoc committees
are formed and dissolved by the
school council as needed.
2. Standing committees
can be dissolved only through the process of
amending by-laws.
C. MEMBERSHIP & ELECTION OF CHAIR
1. All certified staff may participate
in the shared decision making
process at Apollo High
School by serving on committees in
their areas of interest.
2. Each committee shall
consist of representatives from the faculty,
support staff, and parents.
3. Committee membership
is open to interested persons.
Committee decisions shall
be made be consensus. In the event that
consensus is not possible,
a majority of the committee may decide that an
issue shall be decided
by majority vote.
1. Committees shall carry
out tasks assigned to them by the school
council.
2. Committees may decide
to bring issues of concern or interest to
the school council.
3. Committees may research
issues, gather school-wide input, or
prepare first and revised
drafts of school council policies.
4. Committee chairs or
their designees will report at each regular
council meeting, or as
requested by the school council.
5. Committee chairs shall
provide the council secretary with written
minutes of their meetings
no later than 10 days after the meeting
occurred.
1. Committees will meet
on as needed to complete tasks assigned by the Council.
2. Committees must comply
with all provisions of the Open Meetings
and Open Records laws.
1. Standing committees for Apollo
High School shall
include: Curriculum committee
and Professional Development committee
2. Continued need for
standing committees will be reviewed and
confirmed by the school
council each August at their regularly scheduled
meeting.
3. A list of standing
committees, a brief description of their
purpose, and a list of
each committee’s membership shall be contained in
Appendix A of this document.
ARTICLE
VI. SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS
A. REGULAR MEETINGS
1. The regular monthly meeting of the Apollo
High School Council shall be the
third Tuesday of every month.
If the third Tuesday occurs on a day when school is not is
session, the meeting will occur on the second Tuesday. Council
meetings shall be open to the public. Meetings will begin
at 4:00 p.m. and end at 5:30 p.m.
Meetings shall not exceed 90 minutes. If all items on the
agenda have not been adequately discussed after 90 minutes,
the council may decide by motion, second and majority vote
to extend the length of the meeting or to place the remaining
agenda items on the next month’s agenda or on the agenda
for a special meeting.
2. The regular monthly meetings will be
held at the Apollo High School conference room.
3. The principal shall provide
local news media of the council’s regular meeting schedule
for the year in July, and provide notification of the council’s
meeting time at least one week in advance of each regular
meeting.
4. The principal will notify the parents
of the regular meeting through weekly emails.
5. The principal shall notify teachers three days in advance
of each council meeting by placing a printed agenda in their
mailboxes or by e-mailing the announcement to all staff
members.
1. If the council needs
to meet between regular meetings, or if the
regular meeting is rescheduled,
the chairperson or a majority of the
school council members
may call a special meeting. The following steps
must be completed by the
chairperson when a special meeting is called:
2. Written Notice: Contents.
The chairperson shall prepare and sign a
written notice that states
the date, time, and place of the special
meeting and the agenda
for each meeting. Only the items on the agenda may
be discussed.
3. Delivery of Notice.
The chairperson shall arrange for the notice
to be delivered to each
council member and to any media organization that
has requested notice of
council meetings. The delivery can be by hand, FAX
machine, or mail but the
notice must be received at least 24 hours prior
to the time of the meeting.
The principal shall notify the staff by
placing a printed agenda in their
mailboxes or by e-mailing the announcement to all staff
members.
ARTICLE VII. CONDUCT OF MEETINGS
A. QUORUM
A quorum of the school
council shall be a majority (one-half plus one) of
the council members. No
council business shall be discussed or conducted
unless a quorum of council
members is present.
B. ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS
Council meetings are open to the public
and all interested persons can
attend, except for those
portions that are conducted as closed session.
Definition: A closed session
is a portion of a regular or special meeting
of the council during which
the council members meet in private. The
council may meet in closed
session for the following reasons:
to discuss proposed or
pending litigation by or against a council member
[KRS 61.810(1)I] ; or
to discuss candidates for
a principal vacancy or conduct consultation in
filling other vacancies
[KRS 61.810(1)(f)].
Before a closed session
can be conducted, the following steps must be
taken:
1. Announcement: Contents.
An announcement of the general nature of
the subject to be discussed
and the specific section of the law that
allows the conduct of the
closed session must be announced in the open
meeting and recorded in
council minutes.
2. Motion. The motion
to go into closed session must be made, passed
by a majority of council
members present, and recorded in council minutes.
3. Closed Session. During
the closed session, only the business
stated in the announcement
can be discussed, and no action may be taken.
No minutes are to be taken
in closed session. If the council secretary is
not a council member, the
secretary shall not enter the closed session.
Details discussed in closed
session shall not be discussed outside the
closed session.
4. Decision. After full
discussion of the issue in closed session,
the council must return
to open session where it may take any official
action on the matter. Any
actions taken must be recorded in council
minutes.
D. MATERIALS PRESENT AT COUNCIL MEETINGS
1. The chairperson shall bring:
a. The folder containing
all items submitted for inclusion on the agenda.
b. The folder containing
all correspondence addressed to the council that
he
or she has received.
c.
Lists of applicants for vacant positions
2. The council secretary
shall bring the binder that he or she uses
to maintain copies of the
council’s by-laws, policies, annual budget,
monthly spending reports,
and minutes.
3. All council members
shall bring their binders containing copies of
the council’s by-laws,
policies, and school plan.
1. Anyone may submit items for inclusion
on the agenda to the
chairperson/principal in writing on
the standard form provided by the
Monday prior to a regularly scheduled
council meeting. The principal shall
maintain a complete file of these
items.
2. The chairperson shall prepare
a preliminary agenda for each
regular council meeting, including
items submitted in writing for
inclusion by the public, staff, parents,
other council members and other
items he or she believes should be
on the agenda. The chairperson may
declare an item received as not within
school council authority.
3. Each agenda shall include the
following items:
Item 1: Setting of the final agenda
for the current meeting.
Item 2: Review and approval of previous
meeting minutes.
Item 3: An opportunity during the
course of the meeting for school or
community persons to address the school
council.
Item 4: Other items submitted.
1. The preliminary agenda shall be
distributed to all staff members,
school or community persons who submitted
items in writing for inclusion
prior to the meeting. A copy of the
preliminary agenda shall be sent to
2. Setting of the final agenda shall
be the first order of business
conducted at each regular council
meeting, and council members may
introduce issues for inclusion on
the current agenda at that time. The
agenda shall be approved by motion
and vote of the council. At a special
called meeting, only the items listed
on the notice of meeting can be
discussed and no new items can be
introduced for discussion or inclusion
F.
DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS
1. Each agenda item shall be discussed
by the school council before a
decision is made. Each council member
shall be given an opportunity to
express his or her opinion on the
item.
2. Other persons attending the meeting
may be recognized by the
chairperson and may address the council
as the chair calls upon them to
speak. If a significant number of
persons wishes to contribute to the
discussion on a particular item, the
chair may set limits on the number of
persons who will speak to the issue,
and a time limit for each.
3. Any agenda item may be referred
to a standing or ad hoc committee
for further study as deemed necessary
by the council.
G. DECISION MAKING PROCESS
1. Unless otherwise specified by
these by-laws, the school council
shall use parliamentary procedures
as specified by Robert’s Rules of
2. All business and decisions of
the school council will relate to
the schools mission and purpose to
improve the instructional program
and/or further the goals in the school’s
consolidated plan.
3. No proposed policy may be approved
by the school council at the
same meeting at which it was initially
proposed for study.
4. All decisions and policies officially
adopted by the
Apollo High School Council will be
reported to the board of
education and superintendent through
submission of approved council
5. The school council will make
decisions by consensus except as
otherwise designated in the by-laws
using the following guidelines:
6. A motion and a second are made.
7. After discussion of an item,
the chair or any member may state the
consensus of the group in one or two
sentences.
8. The chair will ask whether any
member disagrees with that
9. If all members agree, the decision
will be recorded as a unanimous
decision in the council minutes.
10. If a member disagrees, the discussion
will continue until a
suggestion of consensus is made that
draws no disagreement, or until the
third suggestion of consensus fails.
H. ALTERNATIVE TO CONSENSUS
When
a third suggestion of consensus fails, the council may by
majority
1. Vote to send the issue back to
a committee
2.
Form an ad hoc committee to study the issue further (the motion
on
this vote shall include a regular
meeting date when the council will hear
3. Decide the issue by majority
vote of the council
I. CRITERIA FOR MAJORITY VOTE
A majority vote of the council shall
be taken after consensus fails three
times if the issue meets the following
criteria:
1. The issue involves the selection
of a new principal: the council
shall vote and the candidate receiving
the majority shall be selected.
2. The issue involves the number
of persons to be employed in each
job classification, the textbooks
to be purchased, or the budget for or
purchase of student support services;
3. The issue is whether to continue
to meet for longer than 90
4. The federal or state government
or the district board of education
has set a deadline by which the school
council must make a final decision
and that deadline will occur before
the next regular council meeting; and
5. The members of the council cannot
agree by consensus to decide the
issue at a special meeting and a majority
of the council members wish to
decide the issue by a majority vote.
When the above exceptions do not
apply and consensus cannot be reached,
the issue may be placed on the
agenda for the next regular meeting
or special meeting and the decision
may be made at that meeting by majority
vote of the council. When voting,
any abstention is counted with the
majority vote.
ARTICLE
VIII. MINUTES AND OTHER COUNCIL RECORDS
A. MINUTES KEPT AND APPROVED
1. Minutes shall be kept for each
meeting of the school council.
2. The minutes shall reflect an
accurate record of actions and votes
taken at a council meeting. Minutes
shall show the words of the motion or
suggestion of consensus, and the majority
vote or unanimous support.
3. If the action taken was the adoption
of a policy, the entire text
of the policy shall be attached to
the copy of the minutes kept on file
for public inspection and filed in
the council’s policy manual.
4. The minutes of the school council
shall not be official until they
are reviewed and approved by the council.
5. A preliminary copy of the minutes
for all council meetings will be
provided to certified and classified
staff in written form or via email within 72 hours
of the adjournment of the meeting.
6. The principal will forward a copy
of the minutes to the
superintendent and keep an official
copy on file in the school.
B. COUNCIL RECORDS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION
The following are official documents
that must be kept on file for public
1. School Council Minutes and Agendas
2. Committee Minutes and Agendas
3. Consolidated Plan (CATS Scores,
Needs Assessment)
4. School Council Policies and By-Laws
5. School Council and Committee
Membership Lists
6. Official correspondence
C. REQUESTS FOR COUNCIL RECORDS
1. Requests for council records
must be made in writing to the
principal. Requests must include specific
documents and dates.
2. The fee for copying of council
records shall be 10 cents per copy
unless the request is for the Consolidated
Plan document.
3. The fee for a copy of the Consolidated
Plan document shall be the
school’s cost for one copy,
as per printing records.
4. The requested records must be
provided to the person making the
request within three business days
(The attorney general ruled in
01-ORD-94 (May 2001) that the only
days that are excluded are legal
holidays and weekends. As a result,
the fact that a school may be closed
over the winter holidays or spring
break and no one is in the office does
not prevent the clock from running
on the three-day response requirement.)
5. The school council secretary
shall make or provide copies of
requested documents at the principal
or chairperson’s request.
6. School council records will be
available for inspection during the
hours the school is open (est. 8:00
a.m. – 3:15 p.m.)
7. The custodian of records for
the school shall be the principal,
and the principal shall make the final
determination regarding which
records not listed above are available
for inspection and all matters in
regards to open records requests not
covered in this policy, in compliance
with state guidelines and requirements.
ARTICLE
IX. APPEALS
A. REQUEST
For a person (s) to appeal a decision
of the council or file a grievance
he/she must first request in writing
an opportunity to be heard and shall
include information about the grievance
issue.
A council shall schedule a hearing
within thirty (30) working days form
the date the request is received.
The person appealing shall be informed
of the hearing by registered letter.
The person appealing may be represented
by legal council and may call
witnesses as long as the testimony
is germane to the issue.
The council shall consider the merits
of the complaint, make a decision,
and respond writing the complaint.
A copy of the written grievance or
appeal, and a written reply by the
council shall be provided to the superintendent
with ten (10) working days
of the council’s decision.
ARTICLE X. AMENDMENTS
A. AMENDMENTS TO COUNCIL BY-LAWS
These by-laws may be amended after
a first and second reading at two
consecutive council meetings by majority
vote of the school council.
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