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School Planning Council 2-42.1

School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Regulation 2-42.1

ADMINISTRATION

School Planning Council

  1. General

    Each principal shall activate a School Planning Council.

  2. Purpose

    The School Planning Council will review and monitor a school Plan for Continuous Improvement that honors the Virginia Standards for Accreditation, is aligned with the strategic plan for the School Division, reflects site and community needs based upon analysis of school data, and contains measurable objectives focused on student achievement.

  3. Membership

    The School Planning Council shall consist of representation from staff and community:

    1. Each School Planning Council may determine the proportion of membership within staff and community sectors.
    2. Staff membership - The School Planning Council membership shall include administrators, instructional staff, support staff, including the trained Leadership Team consisting of the Principal, one Assistant Principal, the School Improvement Specialist at the middle and high school levels, and the Academic Coordinator and School Improvement Coordinator at the elementary level.
    3. Community membership - the School Planning Council membership shall include school partners, volunteers, parents, and as feasible, students. The president of the PTA, or the president's designee, will automatically serve as part of the community sector.
    4. Principal's membership and chair - The principal may serve as chair or have a member of the Leadership Team serve as chair. The principal shall not count as a member of the staff component but shall be a voting member.
    5. Each School Planning Council may determine the proportion of membership within staff and community sectors.
    6. Council size - The size of the council is recommended to range from 8-12 members.
    7. Authority of council members - Council members will not have authority to act in an individual capacity or beyond the purposes set forth in this regulation.
  4. Meetings
    1. Scheduling meetings and rules of order - The principal shall call the first annual meeting The agenda for that meeting shall include the establishment of a meeting schedule. Council meetings shall be open to the public. Virginia Beach City Public Schools Decorum Guidelines will be used during meetings.
    2. Appointment of officers - The chair will appoint a recorder to manage minutes/agendas and may appoint any other officers the chair deems necessary for efficient council operation.
    3. Communication - The council will ensure that the school community at-large is informed about meetings, activities, and progress on the Plan for Continuous Improvement. School communication vehicles such as principal and PTA newsletters, calendars, bulletin boards, school-mailed fliers, marquee messages, etc., should be used on a regular basis to inform the entire school community about meeting dates and times, activities, and accomplishments.
    4. Community input - To ensure that the School Planning Council gathers input from the school community the council must utilize or establish some means to gather staff and community input for continuous improvement planning purposes. These methods may include, but are not limited to surveys, public forums, citizens' hearings, meetings, etc.
  5. Principal: Duties and Responsibilities
    1. To retain responsibility for the entire school program and operation, to secure resources for school improvement initiatives, and to serve as the Chair of the School Planning Council or appoint a chair from the Leadership Team. The principal leads the decision-making process of the council, yet retains veto power to be used sparingly in cases where he/she feels a decision will be detrimental to the welfare of students, staff, or community. This veto, must be submitted in writing to the supervising director of the Department of Student Leadership upon request.
    2. To facilitate the leadership activities of school staff and community.
    3. To collaboratively appoint action teams to address measurable objectives and/or areas of focus in the school's Plan for Continuous Improvement.
    4. To secure support and resources for school improvement initiatives.
    5. To collaboratively discuss, plan and schedule member training activities if needed. Each school site may use a portion of staff development monies for any site-specific council training deemed necessary by the School Planning Council. In addition, the School Division shall make ongoing annual training available to council members in need of training.
    6. To collaborate with the departments of School Leadership, Teaching and Learning, and Planning, Innovation and Accountability in assessing the effectiveness of continuous improvement at the site.
    7. To collaboratively administer an annual survey generated by the Department of Planning, Innovation and Accountability to school planning Council members as an external support to the principal's ongoing internal efforts to assess the effectiveness of the school's site planning council.
    8. To ensure that the council's activities are consistent with School Board policies and regulations and the strategic plan for the School Division.
    9. To work with the council on planning for continuous improvement and reporting as described in subsection D.
  6. School Planning Councils Duties and Responsibilities
    1. To work in collaboration with the principal to review and monitor the school's Plan for Continuous Improvement. The plan shall consist of measurable objectives and areas of focus written in plain language. The measurable objectives of the Plan for Continuous Improvement shall be aligned with the Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia and the School Division's strategic plan.
    2. To receive and review Action Team Updates as scheduled in the school's Plan for Continuous Improvement.
    3. To participate in Division wide training, related to their role and duties on the school planning council.
    4. To accept shared responsibility for reviewing, monitoring, communicating and providing feedback related to the Division's annual Strategic Action agenda.
  7. Exemptions to regulation
    1. If the council determines that an exemption to this Regulation is necessary, the council should formally disseminate information regarding the rationale for the exemption, along with the proposed changes, for a period of thirty days. During that time, community comment should be received. The council may also plan formal vehicles to gather input, such as surveys, etc. At the end of the thirty-day period, the council should revisit the issue in formal session and make a determination as to whether to proceed, or not to proceed, with the exemption request. If the decision is not to proceed, the community should be notified that the issue would remain as stated for the School Division.
    2. If the decision is to proceed with the application for an exemption from the regulation, a written request should be formulated based upon how the exemption will improve School Planning Council effectiveness. The request must be submitted by the principal to the designated Assistant Superintendent or Director in the Department of School Leadership. Once that request has been reviewed and a decision has been rendered, the results should be disseminated to the school community through normal council information channels.

Legal Reference

8 VAC 20-131-20, as amended. Philosophy, goals and objectives.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-253.13:6, as amended. Standard 6. Planning and public involvement.

Approved by Superintendent: September 21, 1993 (Effective August 14, 1993)
Revised by Superintendent: September 3, 1997
Revised by Superintendent: January 26, 1999
Revised by Superintendent: December 4, 2001
Revised by Superintendent: February 5, 2002
Revised by Superintendent: November 21, 2002
Revised by Superintendent: February 28, 2008
Scrivener's Amendments: September 28, 2011
Scrivener's Amendments: August 10, 2013
Revised by Superintendent: October 2, 2018