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Schools Participating in the Pilot Implementation
of the new School Council Policy will follow CFC,
School Council Initial Implementation Process
(Available in MS Word | Available
in Adobe PDF)
All other schools will continue to follow
Policy 1115
SHARED DECISION MAKING (SDM)
BOARD POLICY 1115
According to A.R.S. § 15-351, the Governing
Board may delegate to a school council the responsibility
to develop a curriculum and may delegate any additional powers
that are reasonably necessary to accomplish decentralization.
The Board authorizes the establishment of a
school council at each school site. Each school council shall
operate in accordance with its school constitution/by-laws,
TUSD Board Policy, Arizona State Statutes and Federal law.
The school council shall follow regulations promulgated by
the Board, according to the adopted Shared Decision-Making
(SDM) Standards for Accrediting School Councils.
The Shared Decision-Making process creates an
atmosphere where decision-making is collegial and fosters
an exchange of ideas and information necessary for effective
professional practice for an improved educational process.
It provides opportunities for each school community to make
critical decisions, positively impacting student performance.
This Shared Decision-Making process shall not supersede Board
or Superintendent decision-making authority unless delegated
by the Board.
Each school shall have a school council comprised
of the stakeholders at the site: parents, community members,
school employees (administrators, teachers, and non-certified
employees and students (required only at high school level)).
The school council shall make decisions for the site and as
a school progresses through the phases, it will assume greater
autonomy and authority. The TUSD/TEA Joint Committee for Shared
Decision-Making will oversee the progress of each school through
the phases by regularly evaluating each school according to
the standards for accreditation. These generalized standards
will provide guidelines to each site for the orderly development
of Shared Decision-Making without unduly restraining the unique
development of each school as a separate entity.
Phases of Implementation (These phases
are cumulative and progressive)
- Phase I: Initial school council develops the school's
constitution/by-laws for ratification by stakeholders at
the school, allocates discretionary (301) Classroom Site
Funds, sets policy for hiring committees and approves schedule
for site Staff Development.
- Phase I School - Schools that have not yet completed
the Phase I Standards.
- Phase II: School begins operation under its constitution/by-laws
and maintains accurate records of the decision of the school
council: The school council develops and re-evaluates the
(301) Site Goals/Arizona School Improvement Plan (301/ASIP).
- Phase II School - Schools that have completed the
Phase I Standards, but have not yet completed the Phase
II Standards.
- Phase III: School is authorized, through its school
council, to make decisions on budget, educational innovations,
curriculum, and personnel matters within the bounds of Federal
Law, State Statutes, and TUSD Policy including applicable
district employee agreements.
- Phase III School - Schools that have completed
the Phase II Standards, but have not yet completed the Phase
III Standards
- Model SDM School - Schools that have completed
the Phase III Standards and are continuing to operate within
those Standards.
Membership of the School Council as Required
by the State Statute (A.R.S. § 15-351):
- Teachers
- Non-Certified Employees
- Community Members
- Students (Required at the High School Level)
- Parents (who are not School District Employees) of Students
at the School
- Principal
The number of teachers and parents must be equal
and constitute a majority of the school council.
The school council shall reflect the ethnic
composition of the local community.
How Members are Selected:
- Initial Membership Selection
- Initial representatives shall be selected at public
meetings held at the school site.
- The current team may be grandfathered in as the initial
school council if the number of teachers and parents
is equal and constitutes a majority of the council.
- Subsequent Membership Selection
- Representatives shall be selected by their membership
groups.
- Review Teams
- The TUSD Board authorizes the establishment of the
review teams to facilitate the accreditation of each
school. The review teams will be trained by and will
report to the TUSD/TEA Joint Committee for Shared Decision-Making.
The school review teams will serve as a means
to determine school accountability for TUSD. As part of the
collaborative effort among TUSD, TEA, and the Tucson Community,
the school review teams will be trained in the SDM Standards,
visit school sites, and file a report to the Joint Committee.
The Joint Committee will forward the report to the Superintendent.
The reports will explain how the school fared against each
indicator in each standard and recommend phase accreditation
placement. Since the standards reflect what each school should
be doing to facilitate student achievement and community participation,
the review teams will exist as a means to measure school progress
at a given time and the review team reports will serve as
a record to measure the progress of a school over time.
Legal Reference: Arizona Revised Statute 15-351.
School Councils; Duties; Membership
TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Tucson, Arizona
Adopted: April 10, 2001
Revised: March 11, 2003
Replaced with Policy Code CFC (Available
in MS Word | Available in Adobe
PDF)
December 13, 2005
For
more information contact: