PARENTS HAVE STAKE IN SBDM COUNCILS

http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/C2/20120803/NEWS03/308030002/

Important decisions concerning curriculum, rules, policies and staffing happen in all public schools at a School Based Decision Making Council (SBDM).

The SBDM system, started in 1990 by the Kentucky Education Reform Act, is designed to include the voices of parents through a shared decision-making process, according to the Kentucky Department of Education’s website.

Led by the school’s principal, the five-member council must be comprised of at least two parent representatives and three teacher representatives, but can also have proportionally larger representation, said Kentucky PTA President Teri Gale. The SBDM councils are designed to focus on issues impacting student achievement and members examine and make decisions based upon test score data, Gale said.

One of the most important duties of an SBDM is selecting a principal, Gale said.

In 2011, Senate Bill 12 was approved and for the first time gave superintendents a role in the replacement of principals, according to the KDE website. Now a superintendent, or their designated representative, serves as the chair of the SBDM during the principal selection process.

Highlands High School Principal Brian Robinson said, as the decision-making bodies at each school, the SBDM councils are really the people that make things happen in schools.

“The councils are quite powerful and very important in the state of Kentucky,” Robinson said. “Having a democratic decision-making approach is really important because it brings in multiple stakeholders that offer different perspectives.”

Parents are the voice of students and parents on the council, Gale said. Although parents are only two of five members, and can be outvoted, school officials want to hear their thoughts.

“The parents have a very strong say on those councils,” she said. “They listen to what the parents have to say.”

Many parents don’t realize SBDM councils, which have public meetings, exist, Gale said.

From dress codes to lunches, setting a wellness policy to whether or not the school will have a nurse, nothing goes on in the school without the SBDM council’s approval, she said.



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