SCC Bylaws – Hillcrest High School

Hillcrest High School

School Community Council Bylaws

Article I – Name

Hillcrest High School Community Council (HHS SCC)

Article II – Laws

All Utah School Community Councils function under the following laws and statutes:

Utah Code Ann.

Title 53F-2-404: School LAND Trust Program Distribution of Funds
Title 53G-7-1202: School community councils – Duties – Composition – Election Procedures and Selection of Members
Title 53G-7-1203: School community councils — Open and public meeting requirements
Title 53G-7-1206: School LAND Trust Program
Title 53G-10-S407: Positive behaviors plan – Positive behaviors specialist stipend – Reports

Utah Administrative Code

R277-477: Distribution of Funds from the Trust Distribution Account and Administration of the School LAND Trust Program
R277-491-1: School Community Councils

Canyons School District Policy

Policy 700.01 – School Community Councils

Article III – Standing Rules

Elections for SCC representatives will be held prior to the September meeting. All voting SCC members will have their name and contact information posted on the school website.
a) Notification of available SCC parent seats, election dates and procedure for declaring candidacy for the SCC will be provided with the Hillcrest registration information that is sent to all families, listed on the school website and posted outside the Main Office on the Community Board.
b) Employee elections will be held in employee meetings at the beginning of the school year.
c) If the same number of candidates (or fewer candidates) applies for positions on the SCC as there are seats available on the SCC, each applicant will be placed on the SCC without election.
d) If there are at least two more candidates than available seats, then two alternates will be selected from the remaining candidates in the order of the number of votes received. They will be appointed as voting members of the council if a seat in vacated prior to the next election.
Membership: The number of SCC members will be at least 6, and limited to 18 total members. The SCC must have at least two more parent/guardian members than school staff members, including the principal.

III. Members of the SCC (parents and employees) have an expectation of attendance.

a) If for some reason a member cannot attend, he or she needs to notify the Chair or the Principal ahead of time to be excused.
b) If a SCC member misses three meetings in a given school year, he or she may be invited to resign as a voting member of the council; the council members may then appoint a replacement from the alternates selected during the election.
c) If no alternate is available to serve, and it is determined that the seat needs to be filled, the SCC may seek out parents or school employees to be appointed.
A majority of the members of the SCC is a quorum for the transaction of business.
The action of a majority of the members of a quorum is the action of the SCC.
The Hillcrest High School Community Council will meet monthly with the exception of June, July and August.
a) The majority of the council must approve of canceling and/or calling additional meetings
b) Meeting dates for the year will be set at the September SCC meeting and then published on the school website.

VII. The SCC may not close meetings. The meetings are always open to the public.

a) Notification of the meetings and their agendas will be posted on the school’s web site and on the school’s Community Board.
b) Meeting minutes will be posted on the school website for the current school year and archived as per state law.

VIII. All meetings will be conducted by the SCC Chair and follow the guidelines listed below:

a) Meetings will begin on time, use time wisely and stay focused on the agenda.
b) Guests attending the meeting must be recognized by the Chair before addressing the group.
c) Members and guests will come prepared to participate and will avoid side conversations during the meeting.
d) Respect for others in verbal and non-verbal communication will be shown at all times.
e) Attendees will avoid disruptions by silencing cell phones and taking necessary calls or conversations out of the room during the meeting.
f) Actions of the SCC requiring a vote will be conducted according to parliamentary procedures. These procedures are described in the SCC Rules of Order and Procedure. A voting member must make a motion, another will second the motion and following discussion, the council will vote. In votes that are not unanimous, a roll-call vote will be taken.
Officers will be elected by the SCC at the September meeting each school year. The current Chair will serve through the summer months, assist the Principal with SCC elections, conduct the September meeting and assist the new leadership in the transition even if they no longer have a student at HHS. Leader positions include:
a) Principal: Works with the Chair to create and post meeting agendas and provides support information for the duties of the SCC. The Principal is responsible to see that the council receives annual training and that the statutes governing school community councils as required by law are followed.
b) Chair: Conduct the meetings, with the Principal create and post the meeting agendas and fulfill other duties as outlined in Canyons District Policy. The Chair is selected from the parents group.
c) Vice-Chair: Works with the Chair and conducts meetings in the case of the Chair’s absence. The Vice-Chair is selected from either the parents or school employee group.
d) Secretary: If a member of the SCC wishes to serve as Recording Secretary for the SCC, he/she shall be responsible for taking notes of the meeting and creating the minutes of the meeting for approval by the SCC. If no SCC members are willing to serve as Secretary, the Vice Principal serving on the SCC shall assume the responsibilities of Secretary for the SCC.
e) PTSA Liaison (optional, but recommended): May be an elected parent member of the Council or an ex-officio non-voting member of the PTA’s choosing.
Subcommittees may be established or ceased by a majority vote of the council.
a) Each subcommittee has to be chaired by at least one elected school community council member, which will report monthly on the committee’s progress.
b) Other SCC members may serve on a committee.
c) Additional community members, both employee and parent, that are not elected SCC members may serve on any subcommittee.
Guests may share appropriate input on subjects that fall under the SCC purview. A patron from the school community may bring a topic to the SCC by contacting the Chair, Vice Chair, or the Principal at least one week prior to the scheduled meeting and asking to be added to the agenda. The SCC may invite any person/group to make a presentation on issues pertinent to the role of the SCC. The SCC may vote to limit the amount of time given to any topic. The items that are appropriate for discussion by School Community Councils include, but are not limited to:
i) TSSP – Teacher Student Success Plan
ii) School LAND Trust Plan

iii) Digital Citizenship Plan

iv) School Safety Plan
v) Input on Positive Behavior Plan
vi) Electronic Device Plan

vii) Attendance Plan

viii) Academic needs of the school, with direction to determine the greatest academic need of the school for LAND Trust Plan expenditures.

ix) Advise and make recommendations regarding school programs and issues relating to the community environment for students.
x) Parent/School communication and involvement.

Items not to be discussed by the SCC include:

i) Any personnel issues
ii) Individual student information

XII. These Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the SCC.

XIII. These Bylaws will be posted on the SCC page of the school website. Each SCC member will read and agree to abide by the Bylaws as signified by their declaration of candidacy and at the first SCC meeting of each school year.

Bylaws amended and approved on November 10, 2021

Rules of Order and Procedure

To promote ethical behavior and civil discourse each council member shall:

Attend council meetings on time and prepared
Make decisions with the needs of students as the main objective
Listen to and value diverse opinions
Be sure the opinions of those you represent are included in discussions
Expect accountability and be prepared to be accountable
Act with integrity

Rules of Procedure:
All meetings are open to the public and the public is welcome to attend.

The agenda of each upcoming meeting with draft minutes of the prior meeting will be made available to all council members at least one week in advance, will be posted on the school website and made available in the main office. The agenda will include the date, time and location of the meeting.

Minutes will be kept of all meetings, prepared in draft format for approval at the next scheduled meeting.

The council will prepare a timeline for the school year that includes due dates for all required reporting and other activities/tasks that the council agrees to assume or participate in. The timeline will assist in preparation of agendas to be sure the council accomplishes their work in a timely manner.

The Chair conducts the meetings, makes assignments and requests reports on assignments. In the absence of the Chair the Vice-Chair shall conduct meetings.

Meetings shall be conducted and action taken according to very simplified rules of parliamentary procedure as required in 53A-1a-108.1(10). Items on the agenda take priority over other discussions coming before the council. Council action will be taken by motions and voting with votes and motions recorded in the minutes.

A motion (or an action to be taken by the council) is stated as a motion. Someone else on the council “seconds” the motion indicating that at least one other person on the council feels the motion is worthy of discussion. Then the council members may provide input and discussion as called upon by the Chair. When discussion seems complete the Chair may call for a vote on the motion. Or when a member of the council “calls the previous question” (a motion to end discussion of the first motion), a second is required and then, without discussion the Chair calls for a vote that must pass by 2/3. If the vote on the previous question fails the council goes back to discussing the first motion. If the motion to call the previous question passes, the Chair directly calls for a vote on the first motion. A vote to call the previous question is usually used to move business along.

SIMPLE MOTIONS OF PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

A tie vote is a lost vote.
A main motion may be amended or substituted.
Nominations can be closed by saying, “I move to close nominations.”
Most motions are main motions.
A point of order is offered when there is some question if procedure had been followed correctly.
To stop debate or discussion on a motion and force the vote a member would say, “I move the previous question.” This requires a second and a 2/3 vote.
Hasty action may be corrected by use of the motion to reconsider. This motion may be made only by one who voted on the prevailing side.
A person who made the motion may withdraw the same motion.