What is a School Accountability Committee?

The School Accountability Committee is an advisory committee, not a governing body, that advises the principal on school performance, budget priorities and parental engagement. The purpose of the committee is to inform, encourage and provide opportunities for parent and community members to be involved in the planning and evaluation of the school’s instructional program and quality improvement processes.  Each SAC is comprised of parents, community members, principals and teachers.

Committee Responsibilities

Each SAC is responsible for the following:

• Making recommendations to the principal on the school priorities for spending school moneys, including federal funds, where applicable;
• Making recommendations to the principal of the school and the superintendent concerning preparation of a school Performance or Improvement plan, if either type of plan is required;
• Publicizing and holding a SAC meeting to discuss strategies to include in a school Priority Improvement or Turnaround plan, if either type of plan is required, and using this input to make recommendations to the local school board concerning preparation of the school Priority Improvement or Turnaround plan prior to the plan being written;
• Publicizing the district’s public hearing to review a written school Priority Improvement or Turnaround plan;
• Meeting at least quarterly to discuss whether school leadership, personnel, and infrastructure are advancing or impeding implementation of the school’s Performance, Improvement, Priority Improvement, or Turnaround plan, whichever is applicable, and other progress pertinent to the school’s accreditation contract;
• Providing input and recommendations to the DAC and district administration, on an advisory basis, concerning principal development plans and principal evaluations. (Note that this should not in any way interfere with a district’s compliance with the statutory requirements of the Teacher Employment, Compensation and Dismissal Act.) and
• Publicizing opportunities to serve and soliciting parents to serve on the SAC;
• Assisting the district in implementing at the school level the district’s parent engagement policy; and
• Assisting school personnel to increase parents’ engagement with teachers, including parents’ engagement in creating students’ READ plans, Individual Career and Academic Plans, and plans to address habitual truancy

Composition of Committees

Each school is responsible for establishing a School Accountability Committee (SAC) and should consist of at least the following seven members:

• The principal of the school or the principal’s designee
• At least one teacher who provides instruction in the school
• At least three parents of students enrolled in the school*
• At least one adult member of an organization of parents, teachers, and students recognized by the school
• At least one person from the community.

SACs must select one of their parent representatives to serve as chair or co-chair of the committee.

*Generally, a parent who is an employee of the school or who is a spouse, son, daughter, sister, brother, mother or father of a person who is an employee of the school is not eligible to serve on a SAC. However, if, after making good-faith efforts, a principal or organization of parents, teachers and students is unable to find a sufficient number of persons who are willing to serve on the SAC, the principal, with advice from the organization of parents, teachers and students, may establish an alternative membership plan for the SAC that reflects the membership specified above as much as possible.