Administrative and Operating Procedures

The District Improvement team shall schedule at least four meetings annually. The chairperson of the committee shall set its agenda. The first meeting shall be conducted in October after the September elections are held. All committee meetings shall be held outside of the regular school day.

The agendas will be prepared by the chairperson and distributed to the membership council at the regularly scheduled meetings.

Prior to conducting the annual elections, the duties of an elected campus representative will be posted. These duties are:

1. Be involved in establishing and reviewing the district’s educational plans, goals, performance objectives, and major classroom instructional programs.
2. Be actively involved in establishing the administrative procedures that define the respective roles and responsibilities of the Superintendent, central office staff, principals, teachers, committee members, and campus-level committee members pertaining to planning and decision-making at the district and campus levels.
3. Address all pertinent federal planning requirements.
4. Assist the Superintendent annually in preparing, reviewing, and revising the District Plan of Action.
5. Hold one public meeting annually, after receipt of the District-level performance report, to discuss district performance report and district performance objectives.
6. Advise the district staff regarding the district’s discipline management program, including the Student Code of Conduct.
7. Participate in the development and approval of staff development of a district-wide nature.
8. If the district is not using state criteria for appraisals, be involved in the development of the appraisal process and performance criteria for teachers and administrators.
9. As appropriate, provide written comments on request for waivers submitted to TEA.
10. Annually, upon the Board’s request, make recommendations to the Board regarding the number and length of written reports that the district employees are required to prepare.
11. Participate in all scheduled meetings of the council.

The council shall be composed of at least 27 members who shall represent campus-based professional staff, parents, businesses, and the community. At least two-thirds of the district and campus professional staff shall be classroom teachers. The remaining one-third shall be non-teaching professional support staff at the district or campus level. [Board Policy – BQA (Local)]

The names of interested parents will be forwarded by the Campus Improvement Team. Any parent whose name is submitted to the DIT will be contacted to verify the individual’s interest and willingness to serve. The final selection of two (2) parent representatives will be made by the DIT.

Each campus should forward the names of one or more business representatives and one or more community representatives to the DIT before the September elections.

The role of these members of the DIT is two-fold:

• To increase their specific group’s participation in decision-making at the district level.

• To help share information with the community in their particular areas about decisions which are being made by the school district.

Elections will be conducted in the fall under the direction of the chairperson. Elections will be held by September 15 before the October DIT meeting. Terms of office will begin October 1st and end September 30th. Orientations for new members will be held before the October meeting. The orientation should include team building objectives as well as briefing on the duties of the DIT.

An employee's affiliation or lack of affiliation with any organization or association shall not be a factor in either the nomination or election of representatives on the committee. [Board Policy – BQA (Local) see also DGA]

The consent of each nominee shall be obtained before the person's name may appear on the ballot. Nomination and election shall be conducted in accordance with this policy and administrative regulations.

Representatives shall serve staggered three-year terms and shall be limited to two consecutive terms on the committee.

If a vacancy occurs among the representatives, the Superintendent shall appoint an individual from the appropriate representative group for the remainder of the unexpired term.

All members, voting and non-voting, are expected to participate in all council activities and meetings. A principal or assistant principal should be present at each meeting. The campus principal should be advised of an expected absence. If a representative is unable to attend a meeting, the principal may name an alternate teacher to attend the DIT meeting with voting privileges. An extended number of absences may result in a new representative being elected from the campus.

If a campus representative transfers or is reassigned, the individual may serve the remainder of a two-year term. The individual must be elected to represent the campus to which the individual has transferred or to which he/she has been reassigned. Remaining on the council after a transfer or reassignment is not automatic. A representative can be elected for a second term on the council. Any individual wishing to serve on the council must be elected from that campus.

To facilitate the work of both the DIT and each CIT, coordination needs to exist between both groups. At least one of the campus DIT representatives must be an elected member of the CIT or an ad hoc member of the CIT for purposes of communication. CIT meetings will be scheduled in coordination with DIT meetings to facilitate communication of all issues. Principals should conduct orientation for members of the CIT. Agendas and minutes of DIT will be shared and discussed at the CIT meetings.

Each campus CIT should meet at least once a week prior to the scheduled DIT meeting to discuss any items they wished to have placed on the DIT agenda for that meeting. These items are sent to the Chairperson or President, who then considers these items for the agenda. After the scheduled DIT meeting takes place, the minutes of that meeting are distributed to the campus CIT members who then distribute them to the various departments at each campus. Principals will be provided copies of the minutes to post in a common area for all campus employees to review.

To facilitate the work of the DIT, Focus Committees will exist as a responsible extension of the advisory council. Focus Committees are responsible for developing and monitoring the implementation of specific portions of the District Plan of Action.

The committees are organized to address the following areas of focus:

• Curriculum and instruction; technology; special programs; career and technology education; higher education; parent involvement; and safe and drug-free schools.

The Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction will assign a chairperson for each Focus Committee. The DIT membership will be asked to select a Focus Committee on which to serve.

The Chairperson of the Focus Committee will call a meeting of its membership to Review the Plan of Action. The Chairperson or committee may decide to invite additional individuals to serve as ad hoc members, resources, or expert witnesses to the committee.

• The committee will study the Plan of Action and identify all action steps related to that specific plan.
• The committee will identify the needs for each action step and the person(s) responsible for the completion of the steps.
• Committee members will prioritize the steps and contact persons responsible for the completion of the action steps if appropriate.
• The committee will make needed corrections or amendments to the actions plans.
• Each committee will prepare an oral progress report to present to the DIT.*
• The committee will submit a written Formative Evaluation of the assigned action steps to the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction.*
• Committees will continue to monitor the progress of the plans and submit a Summative Evaluation of the action steps to the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction.

*Due dates for report submission will be designated by the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction.

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the District-level committee obtains broad-based community, parent, and staff input and provides information to those persons on a systematic basis. Methods of communication shall include, but not be limited to:

1. Articles in in-house publications regarding work of the committee.
2. Periodic reports to the principals on the work of the committee that may be posted on campus bulletin boards.
3. LISD Website (standing committees, campus, parent, business and community representatives
4. District Newsletter re: meetings, dates, agendas, minutes, decisions, etc.
5. Newspaper Articles as appropriate

The existence of the District-level committee shall not affect the authority of the Board or its designee to appoint or establish other advisory groups or task forces to assist it in matters pertaining to District instruction.