Article I: Authority

Section One. Statute and Policy. Each school district in the State is required in Chapter 28, Subchapter A-K, and Chapter 38.013 of the Texas Education Code, to establish and maintain a district-level school health advisory council. The School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) of the Austin Independent School District is specifically authorized by the Board of Trustees in District policy EHAA (legal).

Section Two. Limitations, The SHAC shall be an advisory body, and shall serve to provide guidance, recommendations, and other assistance to the Board of Trustees as is specifically listed in state law and District policy. The SHAC shall have no power to expend public funds, enter into contracts, or otherwise place obligation or liability upon the district.

Section Three. Bylaws. It shall be the responsibility of the Board of Trustees, upon the advice and counsel of the SHAC, to establish and amend the Bylaws.

Article II: Responsibilities

According to state law, District policy, and the direction of the Board of Trustees, the SHAC shall have the following responsibilities:

• To hold regular meetings.
• To meet periodically with the Board of Trustees.
• To provide advice and recommendations/counsel prior to decisions pertaining to the areas of health education curriculum appropriate for specific grade levels that may include a coordinated school health program designed to prevent obesity, cardiovascular disease, and Type II diabetes through coordination of: health education, physical education, nutritional services, parental involvement, staff wellness, environmental health, mental/emotional wellness, and health services.
• To consult regularly with the superintendent and his/her administration regarding the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the district coordinated school health program.
• To approve the district coordinated school health program, subject to adoption by the Board of Trustees.
• To consult with the Superintendent and his/her administration in advance of submitting issues, concerns, reports, and recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
• To advise and consult with the district in the development of a comprehensive health education curriculum.
• To provide a written annual report to the Board of Trustees on or before June 30 of each year.

Article Ill: Meetings

Section One. Regular Meetings. The SHAC shall conduct regular meetings. Unless otherwise specified by the SHAC Officers, regular meetings shall be held on each first Wednesday of the month. If a meeting is cancelled, all attempts will be made to reschedule for another day during the month; however, if the meeting is not rescheduled, there will not be a make-up meeting scheduled. The regular meeting in August shall be considered the first meeting for the year.

Section Two. Public Hearings. Public hearings and other meetings with the public should be approved by the Board of Trustees in advance of such meetings. This will be coordinated through the SHAC Coordinator.

Section Three. Open Meetings. All meetings of the full SHAC shall be open to the public, and the public shall have reasonable opportunity to provide comment. The Chair may limit the time given to speakers. Committee meetings may be open to the public at the discretion of the Committee Chair.

Section Four Quorum. A quorum shall be the majority of the current membership, as approved by the Board of Trustees. Meetings may still be held without a quorum for purposes of presentations or discussion. However, no actions or voting may take place without a quorum.

Section Five. Attendance. Member attendance shall be monitored by the Chairs, who shall work with members to try and resolve any attendance problems. Non-attendance for three consecutive meetings within a one-year period may result in removal. Members are encouraged to contact the Chair or the Coordinator if they know they cannot attend a meeting.

Section Six. Decision-making. Members shall attempt to reach decisions by consensus. However, if a clear consensus cannot be obtained, members shall reach a decision by majority vote. Each member shall be entitled to one vote per item. Proxy voting and absentee ballots shall not be permitted; a member must be present to vote.

Section Seven. Agendas. Agendas shall be provided for all full SHAC meetings. Agenda items shall be determined by the Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee and Coordinator.

Article IV: Membership

Section One. Membership Criteria. The membership composition of the SHAC shall comply with the following:

• Parents must live within the district, and must be a custodial parent or guardian of a student currently enrolled in a district school. Parents may not also be employees of the district.
• The majority of the SHAC will consist of parents of students currently enrolled in the District, who are not employed by AlSD.
• The Board of Trustees may also appoint one or more persons from each of the following groups: teachers, administrators, district students, health care professionals, business community, law enforcement, senior citizens, clergy, and nonprofit health organizations.
• Membership of the SHAC will strive to reflect the geographic, ethnic, gender and economic diversity of the District.
• The Superintendent shall serve in an ex-officio (non-voting) capacity.
• A representative of the Board of Trustees shall serve in an ex-officio (non-voting) capacity.

Section Two. Terms of Service. The term of service for an appointment shall be two years, normally beginning the first SHAC meeting in August. Terms will be staggered to maintain continuity on the SHAC. Parents and community members will serve a two- year appointment. Campus level staff and students wilt serve a one-year term. Members may serve multiple terms.

Section Three. Confirmation by Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall annually appoint all members to the SHAC.

Section Four. Vacancies. The Board of Trustees delegates to the SHAC Executive Committee, pursuant to Article II of these Bylaws, the responsibility to fill any vacancies that may occur after the Board has annually appointed the SHAC membership.

Section Five. Change in Member Status. If the status of a member changes, the Executive Committee may allow the member to fill an appropriate vacancy. If no appropriate vacancy exists, the Executive Committee may allow the member to continue to serve in the current position, if not otherwise prohibited under Section Two (A) of the Article.

Section Six. Conflict of Interest. No individual shall be nominated for or hold a position on the SHAC if that individual has a direct pecuniary interest in the recommendations of that committee and decisions by the Board of Trustees. Even the appearance of a conflict of interest should be avoided if at all possible. A lone agenda item shall not be cause for the elimination of an individual's membership; however, any such individual shall refrain from participation in decisions and voting as to that issue.

Section Seven. The Role of the Superintendent. The Superintendent and SHAC will work cooperatively. The Superintendent will ensure staff support as is necessary and reasonable and will participate without vote in the deliberations and activities of the SHAC.

Section Eight. Role of the Board Representative. The role of the Representative of the Board of Trustees is to observe without vote in deliberations and activities of the SHAC. The Board Representative shall not speak for the Board of Trustees unless a majority of the Board in a public meeting in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act has so directed. The Board Representative may actively participate in discussions by providing guidance as may be appropriate and by responding to questions to the best of his/her ability. The Board Representative will provide updates, verbal or written, to the Board as desirable; however, these updates shall not supplant the annual report to the Board of Trustees.

Section Nine. Size of Council. The SHAC will consist of no more than 35 members and no less than 15 members.

Article V: Officers

Section One. Terms of Service. The SHAC shall elect a Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary, each to serve 2 year terms. Officers may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms in the same office. Officers will be selected in May or June and installed at the first August meeting of the SHAC. No officer shall be an employee of AISD.

Section Two. Responsibilities.

• The responsibilities of the Chair shall be to:
  • Preside at all meetings of the SHAC.
  • Appoint committees as necessary.
  • Serve as ex officio member of all committees-without vote except the Nominating committee.
  • Work directly with the Executive Committee and the Coordinator to compile agendas for all meetings of the SHAC.
  • Perform other responsibilities as may be prescribed by the SHAC, which are in accordance with SHAC's authorizing statute, district policy, and direction of the Board.
• The responsibilities of the Vice-Chair shall be to:
  • Preside at SHAC meetings in the absence of the Chair.
  • Serve as ex officio member of all committees without vote except the Nominating committee.
  • Serve as Chair-elect.
  • Perform other responsibilities as may be prescribed by the SHAC, which are in accordance with SHAC authorizing statute, District policy, and direction of the Board.
• The responsibilities of the Secretary shall be to:
  • Preside at meetings when both the Chair and Vice-Chair are absent.
  • Work with the Coordinator to prepare meeting notices, minutes, and arrange the location of the SHAC meetings.
  • Perform other responsibilities as may be prescribed by the SHAC, which are in accordance with SHAC's authorizing statute, District policy, and direction of the Board.

Article VI: Executive Committee

Section One. Membership. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers, chairs of all substantive standing committees, and the immediate Past Chair.

Article VII: Committees.

Section One. The Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall be a standing committee consisting of five members of the SHAC serving two-year terms beginning September 1 of odd-numbered years. Nominating Committee members shall be appointed by the Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee and confirmed by SHAC. The past chair shall oversee the nominating committee. The nominating committee will be responsible for filling SHAC officer vacancies.

Section Two. Substantive Standing Committees. There will be one standing committee for each of the following substantive areas: Nutrition/Food Service, Physical Education and Activity, Health Education, Counseling/ Mental/Social Health, Student Health Services, Parent and Community Involvement, Healthy Environment, and Staff Health Promotion. All committee chairs shall report directly to the SHAC through the Executive Committee, Chair, and Vice-Chair.

• The Vice-Chair shall oversee the activities of all standing committees. The Vice- Chair shall insure that no important function is unfulfilled.
• Each committee chair shall be appointed by the Chair with the advice of the Vice- Chair; and the composition of each committee shall be as approved by the Executive Committee.
• Each committee chair, subject to the approval of the Chair, may appoint the members of their committees, designate subcommittees and appoint their sub committee chairs and members.
• Each committee chair shall determine the term of office of its subcommittee members. For each committee established jointly with other organizations, the Executive Committee shall approve the manner in which its chair, its members, any subcommittees, and the terms of office of individuals serving on the committee or subcommittees, are determined.
• Standing committees serve the SHAC's decision-making process. They are the focal point for SHAC activity. Broad community participation is sought for committees. They gather information, analyze available data, make recommendations to the SHAC, and report to the SHAC. The SHAC may develop these recommendations into action items for a SHAC vote.
• Standing committee members are not required to be SHAC members. AlSD employees may be appointed to committees. School Health Services staff may also be appointed to committees.
• The Coordinator will serve as a resource to all committees.
• Committee chairs will be members of the SHAC. If the committee chair is not a parent of an AISD student, a parent will be designated as co-chair.
• Committees should strive for representation reflecting the diversity of the community served by AISD.
• Standing committees should be comprised of at least 5 members.

Section Three. Ad Hoc Committees. The Chair may establish and appoint Ad Hoc committees as he/she deems necessary and appropriate in consultation with the executive committee.

Article VHI: Coordinator

The Coordinator of Student Health Services shall serve as Coordinator for the SHAC. Responsibilities of the Coordinator shall include:

• Ensuring that adequate facilities arrangements and staff support are secured for all meetings.
• Providing members and support staff with agendas and background materials prior to meetings.
• Serving as custodian of all SHAC records.
• Promoting public awareness of the SHAC and maintaining a database of persons interested in service as SHAC members.
• Informing the Chair of member vacancies and attendance problems.
• Provide staff support in the development and submission of SHAC's annual report.
• Informing the Chair and General Counsel of possible member conflicts of interest.
• Providing such other assistance as requested in accordance with the SHAC authorizing statute, district policy, and the direction of the Board of Trustees.