School Community Council
Overview & Orientation
Hawaii Department of Education
For Training Use Only
Office of Curriculum Instruction and Student Support
School Renewal and Redesign Section
Objectives:
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Provide an overview of the purpose of School
Community Councils.
Provide a road map to organizing your
Council.
What is a
School Community Council?
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Forums for open discussion and problem
solving related to student achievement and
school improvement.
School-Based Council composed of principal,
teachers, non-certificated staff, students,
parents and community members.
SCC is composed of…
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The Principal.
And, at least one member of each of the following groups:
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Teachers elected by teachers.
Non-certificated support staff elected by noncertificated support staff.
Student Representatives selected by the student
council.
Parent Representatives elected by parents.
Community Representatives elected by parents.
Membership
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School personnel cannot be parent or
community representatives.
Legislators, Board of Education members
cannot be SCC representatives.
Parents can be community representatives as
long as they are not an employee of the school.
Balanced Representation
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50% of the members are from the school staff
including the principal, teachers and noncertificated support staff.
50% of the members are parents, students and
community members.
3
+
3
=
6 members
If you add a member to one side, then you need
to add a member to the other side in order to
keep a 50% balance.
Why were SCCs established?
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Establishing School Community Councils at
each school to provide a mechanism
whereby key stakeholders can have a
substantially increased voice in the affairs of
their local schools.
Required by Act 51: Part V- Community
Involvement.
“Spirit” and Intent of Act 51
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Strengthen the ties between school and
community.
Provide a voice for all major stakeholder
groups.
Create opportunities for collaboration and
partnership in the educational system.
Focus on a shared goal of improving student
achievement and system’s accountability.
Elections: Nominations/Voting
The Principal is responsible for ensuring that
elections are conducted fairly for each role
group.
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Nominations should be conducted with evidence
of a wide solicitation for nominees.
Voting should follow the democratic election
process.
The SCC Bylaws should include the guidelines
for the election process.
SCC Bylaws
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The Bylaws provide the framework from
which the Council will operate.
The Bylaws cannot contradict the
requirements in Act 51/Act 221 legislation.
The Bylaws should be reviewed annually
and amended as necessary.
SCC Roles and Responsibilities
The SCC is the “trustee” of the school’s vision and
mission.
 Acts as caretaker of the school.
 Functions in an advisory role.
 Practices good stewardship.
 Approaches issues from a unified perspective.
 Focuses decisions based upon what is best for ALL
students.
 Contributes to the shared goal of improving student
achievement.
SCC Responsibilities include:
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Review the Academic Plan and Financial Plan and provide
recommendations including school budget.
Review evidence of school progress on the implementation of the
Academic Plan and Financial Plan on a regular basis.
Participate in the principal selection and evaluation process
(SCC Principal Survey).
Submit requests for waivers to policies, rules, procedures and
exceptions to collective bargaining agreements.
Provide recommendations for revising or creating new school
level policies and procedures.
Provide opportunities for community input.
Review principal’s determination of school’s repair and
maintenance needs.
Waivers and Exceptions
Waivers are to BOE policies, DOE procedures,
rules or regulations, and to other state
agency policies.
Exceptions are to Collective Bargaining
Agreements.
BOE Policy 2412
SCC Waivers and Exceptions
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Designed to enhance flexibility in order to
facilitate school improvement.
Aligned with the school’s Academic Plan and
Financial Plan.
Demonstrates how it will improve student
learning and increase student achievement.
Reflects a consensus of the school
community.
Waivers and Exceptions
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All SCC Waivers/Exceptions requests for
non-instructional days that impact the
school calendar and other requests that
require timely action/follow-up.
Due Date: 2nd Friday in Dec.
All other SCC Waiver/Exception requests.
Due Date: 2nd Friday in March.
SCC Waiver/Exception Approval Process
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SCC Educational Specialist or his/her designee will
review the requests.
Requests presented to SCC Exception Review
Committee for recommendation.
HSTA Exception Review Committee:
2 HSTA Union members
2 BOE members
HGEA Exception Review Committee:
2 HGEA Union members
2 BOE members
SCC Waiver/Exception Approval Process
(continued)
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BOE representatives from the SCC Exception
Review Committee present requests to the
Full Board for approval.
School administrator or CAS may be present
at the BOE meeting for questions.
SCC Meetings
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Effectiveness of meetings requires planning.
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Define the purpose of the meeting.
Plan the agenda.
Set the date and time limit.
Establish and follow ground rules.
Public Notice of Meetings
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Notices and agendas of SCC meetings must
be posted in the school’s administrative
office and on the School Documents Online
(SDO) website not less than 6 calendar days
prior to the meeting.
Minutes of SCC meetings must be posted in
the school’s administrative office and on the
SDO website on a timely basis.
Values of School-Based Shared Decision
Making
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Supports a common vision
Unites all members of the school
community.
Focus is on students and improved
learning.
Being informed and having a voice in
shared decision-making.
Decision Making Guidelines

BOE SCC Policy 2411 requires the
following:
Provide an outline of decision making
processes that may be used by the SCC;
provided that each SCC decision making
process includes a fallback procedure
whereby the final recommendations of the
SCC are made by majority vote, by the
principal, or by some other method that is
agreed upon by the SCC.
Decision Making
Decision Making Defined:
 Voting: “majority rules,” a simple majority of those eligible to
vote is needed for making decisions.
 Compromise: a collection of viewpoints are put together where
most preferences are included in the decision.
 Consensus: “for the good of the whole” based on the school’s
vision/mission. All view points are heard and the decision is
supported by the group.
 Fallback from Consensus: a “fallback” decision-making
option can be prearranged if it is felt that the group may not be
able to reach consensus. (for educational reform decisions, a
vote of a large majority, e.g. 80% of participants, may be
appropriate.) Once a decision is made, everyone commits to its
implementation.
Decision Making Considerations
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Focus decisions on what is best for all
students.
Seek involvement by the wider community.
Support decisions with data and research.
Become a learning community.
Be aware of collective bargaining issues.
Approval Process/Decision Making
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The Principal may set aside any decision
made by the SCC if determined to be in
the best interest of the school with
notification to the SCC.
The SCC may appeal to the CAS for
resolution and if necessary, to the
Superintendent and finally to the BOE.
The Superintendent may recommend to
the BOE dissolution of a SCC or removal
of any member if deemed necessary.
Resources for SCCs
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School Community Council (SCC) go to:
https://iportal.k12.hi.us/SCC/homescc.aspx?home=true
The Value of SCC Membership
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Become an important partner in the
educational system.
Contribute to the shared goal of improving
student achievement.
Have a vehicle through which to express
opinions and share ideas.
Be able to keep informed about what is
happening at the school.
In Summary…
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SCCs play a vital role in the education
system in Hawaii.
Organize, plan and utilize the SCC Handbook
II as a guide.
Focus all discussions and decisions on
what’s in the best interest of the students.