Manistee County Parent Advisory Committee

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:
  1. 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.
  2. A parent who has shown an interest in the PAC by attending at least one meeting in the year prior to appointment.
  3. 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.
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.

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.

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.