The bylaws for this school were last reviewed or modified on Sep. 17, 2024.

The bylaws are as follows:

SOUTH MIAMI K-8 Center
EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL BYLAWS



A. PURPOSE

The purpose of the South Miami K-8 Center School Educational Excellence Council is to work to ensure improved student achievement. One of the ways the Council will do this is by preparing and evaluating the school improvement plan as required by Section 229.591, F.S., Comprehensive Revision of Florida's System for School Improvement and Education Accountability.


B. COUNCIL MEMBERS

1. Composition

The South Miami K-8 Center Council shall be made up of the distrcit mandated demographics. With the exception of the principal and the business/community representatives, all other members shall be elected by their constituent groups. Teachers, parents, students, and education support employees shall also elect an alternate representative. The Council will be representative of the ethnic, racial, linguistic, disabled, and economic community served by South Miami K-8 Center.

2. Eligibility

All teachers, student services personnel, and the media specialist employed by the school are eligible to be elected teacher representatives to the Council. All other persons employed by the school, including paraprofessionals, and those who are not defined as instructional or administrative personnel and whose duties require 20 or more hours in each normal working week are eligible to be elected as the education support employee representative. All parents, guardians, or significant others responsible for a child enrolled in South Miami K-8 Center are eligible to be elected as parent representatives, with the exception of those parents who are also employed by South Miami K-8 Center.





3. Terms

The terms of office shall begin immediately following the election and end as follows: teachers - three years, parents - three years, student - one year, community representative - three years, educational support - three years. Each representative will be elected by its corresponding groups when a vacancy becomes known.

4. Responsibilities

Council members are expected to

a. attend all regular and special meetings (Any member who has two consecutive unexcused absences from council meetings shall be considered to have resigned. The member shall be replaced following election/selection procedures as stated in these bylaws.) A member is considered excused by a note or a phone call to the principal or the chair.

b. communicate with constituents to collect data and opinions for decision making

c. report to constituents the actions taken by the Council, and

d. consider the needs of all students when making decisions, including the
expenditure of the School Improvement Funds.

C. ELECTION PROCESS

The school shall give proper notice of the election of Council members in accordance with the Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law. The school shall, also, make its best effort to hold elections for each constituent group during hours that are convenient for each constituent group.

D. MEETINGS

1. Regular Meetings

The regular meetings of the Council will be held as needed in accordance with the School Improvement Plan and needs of the school community. With a minimum of four meetings per year. Meetings will be held on a day and time that is convenient to parents, students, teachers, and business/community representatives.

2. Special Meetings

In the event a special meeting is needed, the principal, chair, or a majority of Council members may call a meeting.

3. Cancellation

A regular Council meeting may be canceled by the Council.

4. All meetings shall be open to the public and shall not be held in any facility or location which discriminates on the basis of sex, age, race, creed, color, origin, disability, or economic status or which operates in such a manner as to unreasonably restrict access to such a facility.

E. QUORUM

A majority of the voting members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.
The quorum must include both teacher and parent representatives.

F. AGENDA

1. 1. The Chair and the Principal shall prepare and distribute the agenda for all regular and special meetings. All EESAC members must receive at least 3-days’ notice in writing of any matter that is scheduled to come before the Council for a vote.

2. Adding to the Agenda

a. Council members may add items to any regular meeting agenda by contacting the Chair in advance.

b. Non-Council members may propose an agenda item by contacting a Council member.

c. The agenda may be amended at the meeting by majority vote.

G. CONSENSUS DECISION MAKING

The primary method of decision making shall be by consensus

H. MINUTES

Minutes shall be kept for all meeting of the EESAC. Copies of the approved minutes shall be maintained by the school as a public record. In addition, a copy of the minutes of every meeting as of July 1, 2002, will be posted electronically by the school on the Internet.





I. INPUT FROM NON-COUNCIL MEMBERS

Those who are in attendance at the Council meetings shall be provided an opportunity to discuss issues under consideration at the conclusion of the regular agenda for no more than three minutes.



J. COMMITTEES

Special committees may be established as determined by the Educational Excellence Committee.

K. AMMENDMENTS

These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting by a ten member consensus vote, provided that at least 5 working days written notice of the proposed change has been given to all members of the Council.