Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 28 - EDUCATION
Part I - BESE/8(g) Operations
Subpart 1 - Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Chapter 5 - Organization
Section I-503 - Advisory Councils
Universal Citation: LA Admin Code I-503
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Functions. In general, the function of an advisory council is to advise the board, directly or through its committees, in the discharge of its policymaking, supervisory control, and budgetary duties and responsibilities. Specific functions of an advisory council are determined by the creating law or policy. Advisory councils deal exclusively with matters referred to them by the board or the LDE. Matters referred to advisory councils are those that require external input regarding funding decisions, policy matters that need to be reviewed for local impact, bulletin revisions containing policies or supervisory controls, and matters particular to a council for which it was created. The LDE staff provides the board with a statewide and nationwide perspective on certain issues, while advisory councils respond from a local or community perspective.
B. Composition. Unless otherwise provided by state or federal law, each advisory council of the board is created by board policy. The policy determines the size of the council membership; the number of persons to be appointed by the board; the persons, organizations, affiliations, or interest groups to be represented on a council; and the length of terms.
C. Creation. The following advisory councils are created.
1. 8(g) Advisory Council:
a. authority - per BESE policy;
b. membership - 16 members as follows:
i. eleven members, one member recommended by
each BESE member from the member's assigned category, as follows:
(a). one representative of a business partner
in education;
(b). one LEA grant
administrator;
(c). one elementary
principal;
(d). one secondary
principal;
(e). one representative
of a nonpublic school system;
(f).
one representative of a public charter school;
(g). one LEA supervisor;
(h). one teacher, grades preK-6;
(i). one teacher, grades 7-12;
(j). one LEA superintendent; and
(k). one 8(g) evaluator;
ii. Louisiana PTA president; and
iii. two ex officio members from the
legislature, recommended by the senate president, from the following
categories:
(a). chair or member of the
Senate Committee on Education; and
(b). chair or member of the Senate Committee
on Finance;
iv. two ex
officio members from the legislature, recommended by the speaker of the House,
from the following categories:
(a). chair or
member of the House Committee on Education; and
(b). chair or member of the House Committee
on Appropriations;
c. referrals/responsibilities:
i. make recommendations with respect to the
board's annual establishment of priorities;
ii. make recommendations concerning any
Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund policies, procedures, and/or
activities;
iii. participate in any
public hearing conducted by the board relative to the Louisiana Quality
Education Support Fund;
iv.
consider all matters referred by the board or the LDE.
2. Nonpublic School
Council:
a. authority - per state statute
(R.S.
17:11);
b. membership-eleven members, one nonpublic
school administrator recommended by each board member, representing approved
nonpublic schools;
c.
referrals/responsibilities:
i. advise the
board relative to standards and guidelines affecting nonpublic
schools;
ii. consider all matters
referred by the board or the LDE.
3. Superintendents' advisory council:
a. authority - per BESE policy;
b. membership - 24 members as follows:
i. two city, parish, or other local public
school superintendents recommended by each board member. It is recommended that
the composition reflect all sizes of systems and be equitable in the regions
represented, to the extent possible;
ii. the president of the Louisiana
Association of School Superintendents (LASS), who shall serve as chair of the
council;
iii. the president of the
Louisiana Association of School Superintendents (LASS), who shall serve as
chair of the council;
c.
expenses. Members shall not receive reimbursement for travel expenses from the
board.
d.
Referrals/responsibilities:
i. consider all
matters referred by the board or the LDE;
ii. recommendations from the superintendents'
advisory council shall be reported to the appropriate board committee. The LDE
shall provide responses to the recommendations.
4. Repealed.
D. Officers. Unless otherwise provided by state or federal law or board policy, each advisory council shall select from among its membership in attendance a chair and a vice-chair. Elections shall be held annually at the first meeting in a fiscal year, and the councils shall report election results to the board.
E. Membership
1. Terms. Unless otherwise provided by state
or federal law, persons appointed by board members shall serve at the pleasure
of their recommending authority. Persons appointed by organizations and
agencies other than BESE shall serve terms determined by the appointing
authority. A council member may be removed without cause by the board member
recommending the appointment, by the board member's successor, or by the
recommending agency at any time. Appointees must maintain
employment/qualifications appropriate to the organizational category being
represented. Once a member retires, becomes employed in a different capacity,
or otherwise fails to maintain eligibility, the member shall become ineligible
to continue to serve and shall be replaced. In the event that council
appointments are defined by term limits, the current council appointee, whose
term has expired, may remain in place until a replacement is recommended or
approved by the appointing authority and subsequently ratified by the
board.
2. Vacancies. A vacancy in
an appointed position shall occur if an appointee, for any reason, is unable to
serve the full extent of his/her term. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be
considered interim appointments.
3.
Expenses. Members of advisory councils may be entitled to reimbursement for
travel expenses, if specified by statute or not prohibited by board policy,
pending availability of funds. Requests for reimbursement for expenses shall be
submitted in accordance with the regulations promulgated by the commissioner of
administration in the Louisiana Travel Guide.
4. Quorum. Unless otherwise provided, a
quorum is a majority of the appointed membership. In the absence of a quorum,
the advisory council may take unofficial action, but minutes submitted to the
board shall indicate that the recommendations are being presented without the
required quorum being present. When it is known beforehand that a quorum is
unlikely, the council chair shall be so notified and the meeting shall be
canceled.
5. Action/Quorum.
Official council action requires that any matter be submitted to the council by
motion duly seconded. The chair states the motion and calls for discussion,
after which the council may act on such matter following repetition of the
motion by the chair. All official action of the council shall require the
favorable vote of a majority of the total appointed membership (i.e. quorum).
Proxies cannot be included for the purpose of establishing a quorum.
6. Proxy. Any person serving on an advisory
council who cannot attend a scheduled meeting may designate a person to attend
as that member's proxy if the appointing authority does not object. To receive
reimbursement for travel and other expenses, a proxy must be properly
designated by the active member and recorded in the minutes as being present.
If the proxy is representing an advisory council member who is prohibited by
board policy from receiving reimbursement for travel expenses, the proxy is
likewise prohibited from receiving reimbursement. Proxies do not retain voting
privileges.
7. Voting. All voting
shall be by voice vote, except when taken by roll call vote or when a member
requests that his/her vote be recorded for the record. A roll call vote must be
taken on any motion if requested by the chair. Roll call votes shall be taken
alphabetically, except that the presiding officer or chair shall have the
option of voting last in order or not voting. Proxies do not retain voting
privileges
8. Attendance Policy
a. Appointed members are expected to attend
all scheduled meetings of an advisory body. Unless otherwise provided, if a
member is unable to attend a meeting, a request for an excused absence should
be submitted to the council chair or the executive director one week prior to
the meeting and a proxy may be named by the appointed member to serve for a
total of three meetings. A council member shall be removed and his/her seat
declared vacant if he/she is no longer a legal resident of Louisiana, fails to
remain active in or is no longer employed by the organization or agency he/she
was appointed to represent, or misses more than two meetings, unless excused
prior to the meeting by the council chair.
b. The appointing authority for each member
shall be notified immediately following each scheduled meeting indicating
nonattendance of the appointee. The notification should include:
i. name of the council member and council on
which serving;
ii. date of the
meeting; and
iii. board policy on
attendance.
F. Meetings
1. Each advisory council shall meet as
scheduled in order to consider referrals from the board or the LDE. Special
meetings shall be by call of the board, and emergency meetings may be called at
the discretion of the executive director.
2. Regular meeting dates shall be scheduled
one year in advance and shall be determined by the executive director or the
executive director's designee.
3.
Agendas of council meetings shall be distributed to council members by the
board staff at least seven days in advance of a meeting, calendar permitting.
All council meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Louisiana open
meetings law (R.S. 42:11
et seq.). In the event that no items have been referred by the board to an
advisory council for consideration, there are no items pending on an advisory
council agenda, and the LDE has no items to bring forward to the advisory
council at least 10 days prior to a scheduled meeting, the meeting shall be
cancelled and the members shall be notified of the cancellation.
4. In accordance with
R.S.
42:19, the agenda may be amended upon
unanimous approval of the members present at a meeting and subject to other
provisions of the statute.
5. In
all particulars, except for those listed in these rules and procedures, the
business in advisory councils shall be conducted according to Robert's
Rules of Order.
6. Every
motion passed by an advisory council, whether or not made as a recommendation,
shall be made as a main motion and must be seconded. All motions must be voted
on and roll call votes may be requested by any of the membership in attendance
at a meeting.
a. Requests from advisory
councils for data/reports must be made in the form of a motion, requesting that
the board direct the LDE or BESE staff to provide such information to the
council making the request.
7. The minutes and reports of each advisory
council shall be presented to the board's executive director for referral to
the board. Actions taken in response to referrals shall be forwarded to the
appropriate committee(s). A committee, after consideration of the
recommendations of the advisory council, shall report its recommendations to
the board for final action.
8. All
meetings of advisory councils shall be considered official functions of the
board to assist in the execution of board responsibilities and
duties.
G. Meetings
1. Each advisory council shall meet as
scheduled in order to consider referrals from the board or the LDE. Special
meetings shall be by call of the board, and emergency meetings may be called at
the discretion of the executive director.
2. Regular meeting dates shall be scheduled
one year in advance and shall be determined by the executive director or the
executive director's designee.
3.
Agendas of council meetings shall be distributed to council members by the
board staff at least 7 days in advance of a meeting, calendar permitting. All
council meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Louisiana open
meetings law (R.S. 42:11
et seq.). In the event that no items have been referred by the board to an
advisory council for consideration, there are no items pending on an advisory
council agenda, and the LDE has no items to bring forward to the advisory
council at least 10 days prior to a scheduled meeting, the meeting shall be
cancelled and the members shall be notified of the cancellation.
4. In accordance with
R.S.
42:19, the agenda may be amended upon
unanimous approval of the members present at a meeting and subject to other
provisions of the statute.
5. In
all particulars, except for those listed in these rules and procedures, the
business in advisory councils shall be conducted according to Robert's
Rules of Order.
6. Every
motion passed by an advisory council, whether or not made as a recommendation,
shall be made as a main motion and must be seconded. All motions must be voted
on and roll call votes may be requested by any of the membership in attendance
at a meeting.
a. Requests from advisory
councils for data/reports must be made in the form of a motion, requesting that
the board direct the LDE or BESE staff to provide such information to the
council making the request.
7. The minutes and reports of each advisory
council shall be presented to the board's executive director for referral to
the board. Actions taken in response to referrals shall be forwarded to the
appropriate committee(s). A committee, after consideration of the
recommendations of the advisory council, shall report its recommendations to
the board for final action.
8. All
meetings of advisory councils shall be considered official functions of the
board to assist in the execution of board responsibilities and
duties.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:6(A)(10), 17:6(A)(15), 17:11, 17:24.4, and 42:19.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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