The purpose of the Superintendents’ Special Education Policy Council (hereinafter referred to as the Policy Council) is to serve as the fiscal and policy authorizing body for the Humboldt-Del Norte SELPA.
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The Policy Council shall be composed of the district and county superintendents or their designees (see Appendix A Voting Structure). Designation of voting member(s) and an alternate voting member in the event of an absence will be submitted to the SELPA by September 1st of each school year. If both the voting member and the alternate are unable to attend, the vote will be considered absent. The policy council consists of County, Regional, Single District, and Independently Reporting Charter School (Charters considered their own LEA for Special Education Purposes) designations. Regional designations may opt to split their votes amongst members of that region. Independently Reporting Charter Schools (Charters considered their own LEA for Special Education Purposes) shall be limited to one voting representative for all Independently Reporting Charter Schools (Charters considered their own LEA for Special Education Purposes). If the combined CALPADS count exceeds 3,500, Independently Reporting Charter Schools (Charters considered their own LEA for Special Education Purposes) will have a second vote, and can appoint a second voting representative. The Policy Council membership consists of eleven to sixteen representational seats. With the exception of Del Norte County Office of Education and Del Norte Unified School District, who may elect to combine their respective seats on the Council, all other representational seats shall be occupied by different individuals.
The number of votes for each seat shall be determined by CALPADS annual enrollment. At the May meeting following the January CALPADS Final count, the recalculation of the votes shall occur for the following school year. Membership is allocated as follows:
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Counties: Humboldt and Del Norte,
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Regional Designations: Districts of less than 1600 CALPADS,
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Single districts of more than 1600 CALPADS
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Independently Reporting Charter Schools (Charters considered their own LEA for Special Education Purposes) of less than 3500 CALPADS
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MEETING TIME AND PLACES – PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
At the May organizational meeting, a calendar of meetings for the Policy Council shall be established for the next school year. The Policy Council shall meet a minimum of four times between September and June. Special meetings may be called by the SELPA Executive Director or with the oral or written request of seven of the voting members, according to the Brown Act, with as much notice as possible.
The Policy Council meetings shall be considered public meetings. Notice of the Policy Council meetings shall be posted at Humboldt County Office of Education, Del Norte County Office of Education, LEA District offices and the Humboldt – Del Norte SELPA website.
The Policy Council shall receive input from the public on each agenda item as it arises and shall reserve a time to take input from the public in attendance on no-agenda items. Persons wishing to address the Policy Council shall normally submit their requests in writing and in advance to the SELPA Executive Director or Policy Council Chair who will provide up to three minutes for input. The Policy Council may vote to extend the time. If timed items on the agenda are not adversely affected, the Chair may take input requests orally from the floor.
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RULES OF CONDUCT OF MEETING — MAINTENANCE OF HISTORICAL RECORD
A quorum shall consist of a majority of members of the Policy Council. A majority vote of votes represented shall be determined by the majority of the total weighted votes of the current number of voting Policy Council members.
Meetings shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rule of Order, revised and abridged version (2020). Unless the vote is unanimous, a roll call vote shall be recorded in the minutes for each vote, regardless of the outcome of the final vote.The meetings shall be chaired by a person elected from the membership. The SELPA Executive Director’s role at the meetings shall be to present information and data for review, and to propose recommendations for consideration, by the Policy Council. All requests for agenda items should be submitted to the SELPA Executive Director in writing at least seven (7) working days before the next meeting in order to facilitate distribution of the agenda to Policy Council members. Minutes of each meeting shall be sent to each participating agency in the SELPA. A copy of each Policy Council agenda, accompanying backup materials and minutes shall be maintained for a minimum of three years by the SELPA Executive Director.
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OFFICERS, ELECTIONS, TERMS AND VOTES
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Officers
Chairperson – Facilitator of meeting; review proposed agenda.
Vice Chairperson – To act as chairperson in the absence of the chair. Parliamentarian – Timekeeper; rule on procedural parliamentary issues. Liaison to CAC – The SELPA Director shall automatically serve as liaison.
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Elections
Officers shall be elected annually at the May organizational meeting.
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Terms
Officers shall be elected for a one-year term. No single member of the Policy Council shall serve in more than one office simultaneously but may serve consecutive terms in the same office or in another office.
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Votes
Member votes shall be determined by CALPADS count as follows: CALPADS Range: 0 – 1,600 = 1 vote
1,601 – 3,200 = 2 votes
3,201 – 4,800 = 3 votes
4,801 – 6,400 = 4 votes
6,401 – 8,000 = 5 votes
CALPADS Range for Independently Reporting Charter Schools (Charters considered their own LEA for Special Education Purposes): 0 – 3,500 = 1 vote
3,501 – 8,000 = 2 votes
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A participating agency of the SELPA and/or the SELPA Executive Director may propose changes in the Governance structure or amendments to the Local Plan at any time to the Policy Council. Proposed changes shall be announced at a prior meeting, and information shall be sent to all participating districts prior to the meeting at which the proposed change shall be up for the vote.
Changes to the Bylaws of the Policy Council or amendments to the Local Plan shall only be made upon a majority vote of the Policy Council.
Exception: If a participating agency proposed to withdraw its membership in the Humboldt-Del Norte SELPA, said proposal shall be submitted to the Policy Council no later than December 31 of the year preceding the proposed withdrawal. The option to withdraw from SELPA shall not be subject to a vote of the Policy Council but shall be subject to review/approval by the California Department of Education.