PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

The primary purpose of the PACT Charter School Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) is to provide a forum for parents and staff to share ideas, identify concerns, and advise the school/district, in order to improve services along with educational and extracurricular opportunities for children with disabilities.

The Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) reports directly to the Joint Steering Committee.

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA

The Special Education Advisory Council is an open council, with teacher members being appointed by Administration.  The Council is open to all parents of PACT. State of MN mandates that the council include parents of students with disabilities.

Membership by position:

The chair of the special education advisory council is the Lead Special Education Teacher. The chair and all appointed teachers are considered members by position.

Designated teachers:

The Lead Special Education Teacher, Elementary and/or Secondary regular education and/or special education teachers.

Membership by attendance:

At PACT parents participating in meeting discussions at SEAC have voting rights and privileges beginning with the first meeting of attendance.

MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES

Each member has the responsibility to be familiar with the minutes and agenda of the council meetings, attend regularly or send a representative, and perform assigned duties/tasks and report back to the council.

All members must be familiar with PACT’s Conflict of Interest Policy and Code of Conduct and must fill out an annual statement by Oct 15 (or upon achieving membership) to be maintained by the council/committee clerk and noted on the attendance sheet.

COUNCIL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The Special Education Advisory Council advises on special education matters at PACT Charter School. The Council does NOT set special education policy. The council collaborates with special education staff at PACT to improve special education services for students.
2. Federal and State law require all school districts that provide special education services to have Parent Advisory Councils. Please see Sec. 8., Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 125A.24 (Parent Advisory Councils).
3. Federal law requires that the council meet at least one time yearly. At PACT Charter School, the Special Education Advisory Council typically meets more often.
4. Minutes must be taken of all meetings. Approved Minutes will be posted within 5 school days of approval, filed in the minute’s book and distributed according to the Document Management Policy.
5. Meeting dates must be posted in advance on the school calendar. Ideally, meeting dates and agendas should be announced in the PACT Newsletter. A meeting calendar will be published prior to the upcoming school year, which will cover August through June. Committees and Councils should make every effort to abide by the times and dates posted. Changes to meeting dates must be posted at the school and on the school web site at least 5 calendar days in advance with notification (preferred by email) given to committee members.
6. Meeting times – At this time, the SEAC meets at 5:00 PM on the designated Thursday evening on the committee/council calendar schedule, in a classroom at PACT Charter School. The room number is announced before the meeting.
7. This council complies with the Advanced Notice of Agenda Policy, and MN Open Meeting Law by posting their agendas a minimum of 48 hours in advance of any meeting and indicating which items will require a vote at the meeting.
8. The Special Education Advisory Council is responsible for implementing the PACT Bridge Program each spring. The Bridge Program allows all 6th grade students enrolled at PACT to pair up with a 7th grade student for two class periods for insight and experience prior to entering the middle school setting. There is a follow-up panel discussion after the conclusion of the Bridge program, allowing 7th grade students to answer any questions 6th grade students may have regarding middle school.
9. SEAC is responsible for updating the PACT Special Education Brochure, which describes all special education services at PACT Charter School, and is available at the front office.

VOTING AND QUORUM REQUIREMENTS

All members of the Special Education Advisory Council have voting rights and privileges starting with the first meeting that they attend. Quorum is defined as one more than half of all voting members.

MEETING DATES

Meeting dates must be posted in advance on the school calendar, which is maintained in the office via the PACT website. Ideally, meeting dates and agendas should be announced in the PACT Newsletter as well. At times, the chair of the Special Education Advisory Council also telephones parents to remind them of upcoming meetings.

SETTING GOALS

The Special Education Advisory Council establishes goals for each school year that work toward both special education and school goals at the first or second fall meeting. These goals are reviewed and discussed during subsequent meetings as they are completed. Accomplished goals are also discussed at the final meeting in the spring of the current school year.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION TOOLS

The Special Education Advisory Council is responsible for publishing information regarding parent workshops, information regarding disabilities, etc. on the PACT Charter School website.