Parent Advisory
Committee By Laws
Section 3.1 Parent
Advisory Committee
3.11 The
Manistee Intermediate School District Board of Education
will appoint the Special Education Parent Advisory
Committee whose members will serve a three-year term with
terms staggered to assure that a majority of experienced
members remain on the committee. The assistant
superintendent for special education or designee is
responsible for assuring that a recommendation is made to
the Board.
3.111 The
assistant superintendent or a designee shall notify
constituent school district superintendents that a
nomination of parent(s) of a handicapped child is needed
for the Intermediate School District PAC. It is the
responsibility of the local superintendent to assure that
the local Board of Education nominate a qualified
parent(s). The local superintendent shall seek
recommendations from local agencies, parent groups and
school personnel.
- A. No more than three
parents will be nominated from one district. The
ISD Board, in an attempt to assure that all
handicaps are represented, may also name up to
four members.
- B. A "qualified
parent" will be defined as:
- A mother, father,
or legally designated guardian of a person
who has been determined handicapped by an
IEPT. The parent/guardian must be a resident
of the constituent school district.
- A parent who has
shown an interest in the PAC by attending at
least one meeting in the year prior to
appointment.
- The parent has
been contacted by the local school
superintendent or his/her designee and has
agreed to serve as a representative for a
three-year term.
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Parent
Advisory
Committee Members
2000-2001
Ellen
Mallison: Chairman, Onekama
Amy
Green, Manistee
Sue
Wagner, MISD
Anne
Bidelman, KND
Pat
Howard, Onekama
Cheryl
Loubert, Manistee
Marty
Somsel, Manistee
Membership is subject to
change
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3.12 The PAC will
meet by September 30 of each new school year. It is the
responsibility of the special education coordinator and the PAC
Chairperson to set a meeting time and place and prepare the
agenda for the initial meeting.
3.121 At the
September meeting each year, the PAC will select a Chairperson,
Vice- Chairperson and Secretary and other officers as needed.
Officers will serve a one-year term. Officers may serve two
consecutive terms if elected.
Voting procedures will be:
- A. Elections of all officers
may be done by secret ballot.
- B. Nominations will be
accepted from the floor and will be voted on in the
following order: Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson,
Secretary.
- C. Votes for the Chairperson
will be counted by two members not nominated for
Chairperson.
- D. Votes for the
Vice-Chairperson and Secretary will be counted by the
Chairperson and one other member not nominated for the
office.
- E. A simple majority vote of
eligible voting members who are present will elect
officers.
3.122 At the
organizational meeting, the Chairperson will establish the time
and place of the committee meetings.
- A. All Parent Advisory
Committee meetings will be subject to the Open Meetings
Act.
- B. Minutes of all PAC meetings
will be distributed to members and an official record
will be maintained at the ISD office. Additional
distributions will be made to persons listed in 3.126,
the responsibilities of the Secretary.
- C. Meetings shall be held at
least quarterly from September through June with summer
meetings optional.
- D. The Executive Board may
call special meetings when the business of the Committee
so warrants or when requested by three Committee members.
- E. The PAC wants to encourage
attendance at meetings. Members who miss two consecutive
meetings will be contacted verbally or in writing by the
Chair or a designee. If a third meeting is missed, the
assistant superintendent for special education may be
asked to notify the local school board and request a
replacement nomination.
3.123 Voting
eligibility for committee business is governed by the following
guidelines:
- A. Voting is limited to the
official representatives as appointed by the ISD Board.
- B. When voting, a simple
majority vote of the eligible voting members present
shall be required.
3.124 The
responsibilities of the Chairperson shall include:
- A. presiding at all PAC
meetings
- B. appointing, when necessary,
subcommittees to carry out committee functions
- C. working with the
coordinator in the development of an agenda for meetings
- D. establishing a calendar of
target dates for the accomplishment of objectives
- E. signing documents relating
to official committee functions such as the ISD Plan or
other modifications thereof, and other issues.
3.125 The
responsibility of the Vice-Chairperson shall be to:
- A. act in the absence of the
Chairperson
- B. perform duties assigned by
the Chairperson.
3.126 The
responsibility of the Secretary shall include:
- A. acting as recorder at each
parent advisory meeting
- B. having charge of all books,
documents and papers as the PAC determines to be
necessary to their business
- C. assuring that notice of
each meeting is given in writing to each PAC member at
least one week prior to a meeting
- D. assuring that minutes of
the PAC meetings are sent to each member, the Chair of
the Association for Retarded Citizens-Manistee County,
the ISD and local superintendents, the ISD assistant
superintendent for special education, the ISD
coordinator, and other interested parties, as requested.
- E. performing all duties
incident to the office of Secretary
3.127 The terms of
the office of all PAC officers shall be subject to the following
provisions:
- A. officers shall be elected
for a term of one year and limited to no more than two
consecutive terms of office
- B. no officer may hold more
than one office simultaneously.
| Section 3.2(1) Describe the role and
responsibility of the committee, including how it shall
participate in the cooperative development of the plan,
formulate objections thereto, if any, and related
matters, such as the role and responsibility of the
parent advisory committee in evaluating special education
programs and services within the intermediate school
district. (2)
Describe the role and relationship of administrative and
other school personnel, as well as representatives of
other agencies, in assisting the committee in its
responsibilities.
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Section 3.2 Required Duties
of the Parent Advisory Committee
3.21 All Manistee
Intermediate School District Plans, or amendments to such, shall
be developed in cooperation with the Parent Advisory Committee.
It shall be the responsibility of the coordinator to assure that
the PAC members are provided with individual copies of the
current Intermediate School District Plan and subsequent
amendments. Current memos from the State Director of Special
Education relating to special education will be available for PAC
members to review.
3.22 The Parent
Advisory Committee will review the Intermediate School District
Plan at least quarterly.
- A. At the May PAC meeting, the
coordinator will review the Plan that will be submitted
to the ISD Board, noting changes from the previous year's
Plan. The PAC will determine whether there are objections
to the Plan. In the event the May time line is not met, a
special PAC meeting to review the Plan will be held 30
days prior to submitting the Plan to the Michigan
Department of Education.
- B. Prior to the submission
date, the PAC Chairperson shall be asked to sign the Plan
endorsement page indicating that the PAC has been
involved in the development of the Plan. Procedures for
objections to the contents of the Plan are described in
Section 3.23. The Chairperson may be directed by vote of
the membership to file a complaint if the committee has
not been cooperatively involved in the development of all
sections of the Plan.
3.23 Objections to
the ISD Plan may be filed with the Michigan Department of
Education under Rule 340.1386.
- A. Objections to the Plan may
be submitted regarding specific sections of the Plan or
to procedures therein.
- B. Parent Advisory Committee
objections to the Plan require a simple majority vote of
the eligible voting members present in order for the
objection to be filed.
- C. Procedures for filing these
objections are found in Rule 340.1386 of the Special
Education Code.
3.24 Related
matters
3.241 The PAC may
participate in ISD, state and federal monitoring activities
within the district, such as opening sessions and exit
interviews, in conjunction with the ISD monitor. These activities
may include receipt of a summary of ISD monitoring results as
appropriate.
3.242 The Parent
Advisory Committee will receive copies of all deviation requests
from constituent school districts and ISD's as required in Rule
340.1734. This is to be done concurrently with the filing of the
deviation with the State Department. The PAC may elect to take a
position relative to the deviation request.
3.243 The PAC may
choose to be involved in these other related activities:
- A. visit programs, participate
in workshops and attend inservices in order to enhance
awareness of services
- B. communicate information to
parents within their representative area
- C. act as liaison, upon
request, to the ISD or local Boards and administration
and regularly report activities of the PAC to these
bodies
- D. establish standing
committees, if requested, to help boards or local
educational agencies with publicity, awareness, handbook,
etc.
- E. advocate and represent the
needs and desires of handicapped persons and their
families in the development and evaluation of the ISD
Plan
- F. actively participate in
early identification
- G. increase public information
regarding handicaps
- H. assist parents with
complaints through the complaint process, as requested
- I. attend public hearings to
speak in favor of, or against, proposed rules and the
state plan for the delivery of special education services
as they will affect special education within the ISD
- J. take positions on
legislation and millage requests pertaining to
handicapped persons
- K. organize and help local
districts sustain PACs
- L. attend IEPT meetings with
parents in a supportive role, if requested.
3.25 The special
education coordinator shall act as advisor to the PAC. At the
request of the Committee, the coordinator shall provide
assistance with:
- A. surveying the committee for
possible inservice on an annual basis and develop a
program with the Chairperson of the PAC
- B. providing for appropriate
staff to be involved with the PAC upon request.
- C. providing for participation
by representatives of other agencies as appropriate.
Section 3.3 Describe the fiscal and
staff resources that shall be secured or allocated to the
committee by the intermediate school district to make it
efficient and effective in operation.
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Section 3.3 Administrative
Support Available to the Parent Advisory Committee
3.31 Fiscal
resources available to the PAC shall be outlined in the special
education budget submitted to the ISD Board for approval. The PAC
will submit a budget request to the ISD superintendent by January
1 for the following school year.
3.311 The ISD may
provide budget items for:
- A. postage for notices and
other committee mailings
- B. reproduction of appropriate
documents for committee business
- C. secretarial services
- D. inservice related to the
function of the PAC
- E. informational materials for
the PAC.
3.32 The Manistee
Intermediate School District shall make available staff resources
for the purpose of making the PAC an efficient and effective
operational unit.
3.321 The
coordinator shall be responsible for assuring that secretarial
and clerical support is available to the PAC for distribution of
notification and minutes of monthly meetings, and other services
deemed reasonable by the coordinator.