After months of discussion, here are the bylaws as drafted:
The role of our Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) is changing. The committee now has a broader mandate, a new structure and new membership criteria.
We are looking for your feedback about these changes.
Mandate
The mandate of the Committee is to support, encourage and enhance parent engagement at the District level in order to improve student achievement and well-being.
Composition
The committee is made up of a majority of parents and community reps, as well as the Director of Education and one trustee.
10 parents
3 community reps
1 director
1 trustee
Staff support
A majority of parents must be present at meetings and only parents and community reps can vote.
Member selection
Anyone with a child enrolled in an OCDSB school can apply to be a parent member on the committee.
Applicants must demonstrate their knowledge, skills and experience in one or more of the following areas:
(a) public education;
(b) community engagement;
(c) equity and inclusion strategies; (d) public policy and/or communications.
In addition, two parent members will come from the Ottawa-Carleton Assembly of School Councils (OCASC).
Community reps will be selected based on their ability to provide a broad community based perspective and must meet one or more of the following criteria:
(a) demonstrated connection to and/or knowledge of the OCDSB;
(b) active participation in a community group, organization or business that has as part of its mandate an interest in education, community development or social service;
(c) interest in and/or ability to link the OCDSB school community with external community groups or organizations;
(d) ability to represent broad societal or community perspectives; and
(e) experience or demonstrated interest in educational issues.
Appointments are for a one or two year term.
Why these changes?
In September 2010, the Ministry of Education filed regulation Ontario Regulation 330/10 which amended Regulation 612/00 School Councils. The revised regulation, now known as ‘Regulation 330/10 School Councils and Parent Involvement Committee’, outlined the regulatory requirements relating to Parent Involvement Committee’s (PIC) including the requirement that all boards establish and or/comply with the revised regulation. This regulation not only outlined the requirements, composition, and function of the PIC, but also the deadlines to meet these requirements. One specific deadline outlined in Regulation 330/10 mandated all Ontario PICs to have by-laws established by 1 October 2011.
Being one of the boards with an established PIC since 2007, the OCDSB’s PIC has worked continuously since 2010 to align with current legislation and develop its by-laws. The OCDSB PIC By-Laws were approved on November 09, 2011. However, the PIC would like to give parents/guardians, school councils and community stakeholders the opportunity to formally provide feedback on the PIC By-Laws.
If you would like to provide feedback on the PIC By-Laws, please email your comments to pic@ocdsb.ca by December 16th, 2011.
For more information about the OCDSB PIC, please visit: http://www.ocdsb.ca/par/pi/pic/Pages/default.aspx