Thank You!
Thank you for attending a March training session! The professional learning opportunity is beneficial to your SBDM role as a coordinator or trainer and serves as the endorsement necessary for this important work.
This year we explored several new training opportunities that will be available for the upcoming training season, as well as a new update to the SBDM Training Database.
The Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE) goal is to ensure you are equipped with SBDM and training updates, which are pertinent to the success of school-based decision making councils and the students in each of those schools. If you were not able to attend one of the endorsement sessions, email Ashlie Cox as soon as possible so that further guidance can be given.
KDE to Offer Summer SBDM Trainings for Experienced Members
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will be offering free virtual training through Microsoft Teams for experienced SBDM council members.
The training will be conducted over the course of two days and each mini-session lasts 1.5 hours. Participants must attend both sessions in order to meet the three-hour annual training requirement for experienced members.
KDE will train council members on the "Council’s Role with Continuous Improvement" module.
- Part One: "Council’s Role with Continuous Improvement," 9:30-11 a.m. ET on June 22
- Part Two: "Council’s Role with Continuous Improvement," 9:30-11 a.m. ET on June 23
There also will be two in-person SBDM trainings for any experienced council member, where KDE intends to showcase its new training module, "Rise to Proficiency: Councils and Family and Community Partnerships." Dates and locations of SBDM trainings are listed below; each session begins at 9 a.m. local time and ends at noon. A maximum of 40 participants will be allowed at each location and the trainings are at no cost to participants.
- Wednesday, July 13: Marshall County Board of Education, Benton
- Monday, July 18: Garland Building, London
- Tuesday, July 26: VanHoose Education Center, Louisville
Election Procedures
Council member elections are underway! Parent and teacher election procedures determine how elections are run. To that end, here are several points to keep in mind when constituent groups are gearing up for the election process:
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Teachers are elected to council by majority vote.
- To be elected by majority vote, a teacher must receive half plus one of the votes by those eligible to vote. For example, if there are 30 teachers assigned to the building, then 16 votes are needed to be elected.
- All certified staff in the school, including itinerant teachers, part-time teachers, counselors and library media specialists are eligible to serve as a teacher representative.
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Parents are elected to council by plurality vote.
- Plurality vote means receiving more votes than the other candidates.
- Eligible parent candidates must have a student enrolled or preregistered to attend the school for the year they will be serving on the school council. The candidate must be a parent, stepparent, foster parent or a person who has legal custody of a student pursuant to a court order and with whom the student resides.
- Electronic elections are permissible and more guidance can be found on the SBDM Election Guidance document.
The Kentucky Department of Education and the Office of Education Accountability (OEA) recommend that school councils remove election procedures for teachers and parents from a council’s bylaws. Teachers and parents should establish their own written election procedures. The following questions should be considered by parents and teachers and documented in the election procedures:
- When and how candidates are nominated;
- Who prepares the ballot;
- When, where and how parents and teachers can vote;
- Voting schedule and process; and
- When and where runoffs will be held.
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