Section 2-2.7:1. Citizen Advisory Committees; Open Meetings Required; Attendance by School Board Members.

— A. The following Citizen Advisory Committees are hereby established by the School Board.

1. A Gifted Education Advisory Committee will annually review the local plan for the education of gifted students, including revisions, and determine the extent to which the plan for the previous year was implemented. The annual review shall consider the effectiveness of Suffolk Public Schools’ gifted education program, including the review of screening, referral, identification, and program procedures toward the achievement of equitable representation of students, the review of student outcomes and the academic growth of gifted students. Such review shall be based on multiple criteria and shall include multiple sources of information. The comments and recommendations of the Committee will be submitted in writing directly to the School Board and the superintendent by October 1^st of each year. The Committee will reflect the ethnic and geographical composition of the school division; it will be comprised of no more than twenty members and will consist of parents, teachers and administrators.

2. A School Health Advisory Board will assist with the development of the health policy in the school division and the evaluation of the status of school health, health education, the school environment, and health services. The School Board may request that the SHAB recommend to the School Board procedures relating to children with acute or chronic illnesses or conditions, including, but not limited to, appropriate emergency procedures for any life-threatening conditions and designation of school personnel to implement the appropriate emergency procedures. The SHAB will be comprised of no more than twenty members. The members will include broad-based community representation, including parents, students, health professionals, educators, and others.  The SHAB will hold meetings at least semi-annually and will annually report on the status and needs of student health in the division of any relevant school, the School Board, the Virginia Department of Health, and the Virginia Department of Education by January 15^th of each year.  

3. A School Safety Audit Committee will be established to evaluate, in accordance with the directions of the School Board, the safety of each school, which shall include assessing the school’s violence and discipline problems and in designing appropriate programs, policies, and practices to combat such problems and submit a plan for improving school safety at a public meeting of the School Board. The committee will be comprised of no more than twenty members and shall include representatives of parents, teachers, local law-enforcement agencies, judicial and public safety personnel, and the community-at-large. The Committee shall present its report to the School Board by June 1^st of each year.

4. A Title I Parent Advisory Council will be established to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in programs supported by Title I, Part A and/or Limited English Proficiency programs under Title III. The Title I Parent Advisory Council will reflect the ethnic and geographical composition of the school division, and will be comprised of no more than twenty-two members, which shall include parents, teachers, and administrators.  The Title I Parent Advisory Council shall present its report to the School Board by July 1^st of each year.

5. A Local Advisory Committee for Special Education will be established as set forth in the Regulations of the State Board of Education. The functions of the Local Advisory Committee for Special Education shall be as follows:(a)Advise the local school division of needs in the education of children with disabilities; (b) Participate in the development of priorities and strategies for meeting the identified needs of children with disabilities; (c) Submit periodic reports and recommendations regarding the education of children with disabilities to the division superintendent for transmission to the local school board; (d) Assist the local school division in interpreting plans to the community for meeting the special needs of children with disabilities for educational services; (e) Review the policies and procedures for the provision of special education and related services prior to submission to the local school board; and (f) Participate in the review of the local Suffolk Public Schools’ annual plan. The Local Advisory Committee for Special Education shall meet at least four times in a school year and will submit its report to the School Board by November 1^st of each year.

6. A Career and Technical Education Advisory Council will be established as set forth in the Regulations of the State Board of Education. The functions of the Career and Technical Education Advisory Council will be to provide recommendations to the School Board on current job needs and the relevancy of career and technical education programs offered and to assist in the development, implementation and evaluation of the local plan and application. The Career and Technical Education Advisory Council shall be composed of members of the public, including students, teachers, parents and representatives from business, industry, and labor, with appropriate representation of both sexes and racial and ethnic minorities found in the school, community, or region served by the council. The council shall consist of no more than twenty members. The council shall meet at regular intervals during the year to assist in the planning, implementing and assessing of career and technical education programs. The Council shall submit an annual report to the School Board by October 1^st of each year.

All meetings of standing committees and citizen advisory committees shall be open to the public, except where a closed meeting is permitted under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

Members of the School Board are permitted to attend any meetings of standing committees and/or advisory committees. However, members of the School Board are only allowed to vote and/or participate in standing committee discussions if a Board Member is a member of the standing committee. Board members shall refrain from voting and/or participating in the discussion of any topic before an advisory committee.

Legal Authority - Virginia Code §§ 22.1-78, 22.1-275.1 22.1-279.8, 8 VAC 20-40-60; Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title 1, Part A; 20 U.S.C. 6301-6339, 6571-6578; 8 VAC 20-81-230D; 8 VAC 20-120-50.