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Equity Advisory Council Bylaws

At least every other year, the EAC shall review and suggest warranted modifications to these Bylaws.

Article I Organization

The name of this organization shall be the DCSD Equity Advisory Council (EAC). The EAC is an advisory committee appointed by the Douglas County School District in alignment with the DCSD Board of Education Policy ADB Educational Equity. The EAC serves as an advisory board for the administrative offices of the DCSD. The committee serves to support and advise the Superintendent (or Superintendent’s designee), and the School Board on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Article II Purpose Statement

The Equity Advisory Council is a committee that will coordinate with School District Leadership to support and advise the full and systemic implementation of the DCSD Educational Equity Policy. The DCSD, and this council, commit to establish an inclusive culture to ensure all students, staff, and community members feel safe and valued by increasing and embedding authentic and relevant learning opportunities and experiences involving inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.

Article III Roles & Responsibilities

Advising DCSD Board of Education, and in compliance with state and federal laws, including applicable civil rights laws and constitutional rights, the EAC will:

  • Recruit and retain Equity Advisory Council membership which includes School District leadership, teachers, staff, students, parents, and community members;

  • Advise in the development of processes to recruit, hire, and retain employees of diverse backgrounds and identities, including a periodic review and analysis of the recruiting, hiring, and retention practices of the District;

  • Advise in developing and implementing systems and structures to support the critical evaluation of and, if necessary, in restructuring of current curricular and instructional resources and student programming opportunities to ensure representation, accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion within all Douglas County School District approved curriculum. This includes providing diverse perspectives regarding the processes that exist within the District and ensuring support of DCSD’s most vulnerable learners;

  • Advise the Douglas County School District Superintendent in implementation of relevant and equity focused legislation aligned with Colorado Academic Standards, curriculum, and assessments for students;

  • Advise the District in engaging the community regarding implementation of the ADB: Educational Equity policy; and

  • Attend and participate in all EAC meetings unless an absence is excused.

Article IV Foundational Beliefs

The foundational beliefs of the council, as aligned with policy ADB: Educational Equity, are:

1. Every student, family, and staff member in the DCSD must be afforded equitable access to education in an inclusive culture to ensure an environment in which all those in the learning community feel safe and valued.

2. It is our charge to provide educational and working environments that foster systemically aligned practices, opportunities, and experiences which promote the acceptance of all stakeholders, remove and avoid implementing barriers limiting stakeholders’ potential and success, and implement unbiased, culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining learning environments.

3. The DCSD will NOT condone, by its staff, students, leadership, or any other community member representing School District interests:

  • Biased, inequitable, racist, or exclusive practices;

  • Discriminatory behaviors that disproportionately impact any particular group or groups of individuals based on aspect of their collective identity;

  • Practices that promote inequality or inequity;

  • Deficit-focused instructional or operational implementation frameworks;

  • Perpetuation of racism or discrimination;

  • Policies and resolutions that support exclusion or intolerance.

Article V Membership

1. Voting members (*who are not the community-at-large members) of the council must be one or more of the following:

a. the parent/guardian of a child enrolled in the DCSD grades PreK-12 or DCSD Bridge Program

b. a school level staff member currently working in the DCSD.

c. *community-at-large members must live within the boundaries of the DCSD.

2. The composition of this organization shall consist of not less than eleven (11) and no more than thirty-one (31) voting members.

3. The DCSD will appoint a cabinet member or cabinet designee to serve as a staff liaison of the council. This person will serve as a non-voting member and liaison between the DCSD and the EAC.

4. Council membership should reflect the ethnic, racial, geographic, socioeconomic, gender, and

perspective diversity of the entire DCSD to the extent possible and as aligned with the foundational beliefs of the Council.

5. The council will be a District based council, not a Board of Education committee.

6. In choosing additional members and replacement members, the council’s key focus will be to ensure key population constituencies are well represented in the membership.

7. Council members must demonstrate a commitment to the foundational beliefs of the council, a passion for and vested interest in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Specific Voting Members & Groups

1. District Board of Education and formalized permanent committees may appoint 1 voting member per committee to the EAC, including: (up to 10 voting members). Appointees will indicate their status as the appointed DCSD committee member in the membership application. Membership is limited to one person from each committee and may not be shared.

a. Student Advisory Group

b. Counselor / Mental Health Diversity Committee

c. Conexìon/Connection

d. District Accountability Committee

e. DC Gifted Education Advisory Council

f. DC Special Education Advisory Council

g. Employee Council

h. Fiscal Oversight Committee

i. Long Range Planning Committee

j. Mill Bond Oversight Committee

2. The Council will accept a maximum of 8 DCSD school level staff members.

a. If many applicants are interested: 6 neighborhood and 2 charter school school level staff

members.

3. The Council will accept a maximum of 2 community-at-large members.

4. The Council will accept a maximum of 8 DCSD parents/guardians (at least one child must be enrolled in a DCSD neighborhood school, charter school, preschool, or Bridge program)

a. If many applicants are interested: 6 from neighborhood schools (2 from each: Parker, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch) and 2 from charter schools.

5. The Council will accept a maximum of five secondary students.

  1. If many applicants are interested: One student attending a school per region in the DCSD (Highlands Ranch, Parker, Castle Rock), one student in a charter school, and one student in an alternative education school shall be selected.

6. Membership application will commence in July, and will be finalized in August each year.

Article VI Officers

1. The officers of the EAC shall be the following: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Student Chairperson, Secretary, and Communications.

2. The officers of the EAC shall be elected annually by a majority of the voting members of the EAC. The vote shall be recorded for public record in the minutes for the meeting in which voting occurred. During the inaugural year, officers will be elected in the first quarter of school upon approval of the bylaws.

3. Officers of the EAC shall be elected for a term of one (1) year.

4. An officer may be re-elected to office for an additional term.

Officer Roles

1. Chairperson

a. shall not be a staff or student representative.

b. will set the agenda with the district appointed liaison, the Vice Chairperson, and the Student Chairperson (if student’s schedule allows)

c. presides over Council meetings.

d. ensures EAC complies with the Bylaws

2. Vice Chairperson

a. shall not be a staff or student representative.

b. will meet with the Chairperson prior to the Council meeting to set the agenda.

c. Presides over meetings if the Chairperson is unable to attend.

3. Student Chairperson

a. shall be a student representative.

b. will meet with the Chairperson prior to the Council meeting to set the agenda.

4. Secretary

a. takes minutes during the meeting, including votes and voting results.

b. keeps time during the meeting.

c. posts/links minutes on the EAC calendar.

5. Communications

a. will manage communications for the EAC.

Officer Term Limits

EAC Officers will be elected for a one year term, may be elected for additional one year terms, for up to three year total service as an officer.

Article VII Meetings

1. Unless an alternative date is determined by a majority of the council, the regular meeting of the EAC shall be monthly on the second Wednesday of the month. Additional meetings may be called by the chair in exigent circumstances.

2. No regular meetings of the council shall take place in June or July of each calendar year. Any meetings in June or July shall be called for by Council officers as necessary.

3. A simple quorum consisting of half plus one of the council membership is needed to conduct official business. A quorum is defined as the minimum number of members of the EAC that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid (Oxford Languages, 2021). If a quorum is not present, no voting action shall take place at the meeting. Members of the council may continue to meet without a quorum present for the purposes of information sharing or gathering.

4. The Secretary will provide proper notice for all meetings under the Open Meetings Act. Meeting notices will be published via calendar invitation and posted on the DCSD Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, & Accessibility webpage. Included in the notice will be the: agenda, minutes from the last meeting, and any formal communication sent to the DCSD.

5. The previous meeting’s minutes will be approved during the following meeting.

6. Meetings will be held in-person at a DCSD location (preferred) and/or virtually (if necessary or

determined by the council). If hybrid, virtual access will be non-participatory, and virtual attendees will be counted as present, but not counted as part of the quorum.

7. Meetings will be conducted using a formal protocol determined by the council (e.g. Robert’s Rules, Fist of Five, other formal protocol).

8. Any member missing three (3) meetings unexcused or five (5) meetings total during a single year of a term must reapply for membership. All extenuating circumstances will be reviewed by the Council’s officer board.

9. Members will provide formal recommendations and advice to the DCSD a minimum of one time per year during the fourth quarter of the school year. Exigent formal communication will be conducted as necessary.

10. Meetings will be open to the general public for viewing and transparency purposes.

11. The general public does not have voting privileges, and may participate as coded in the agenda for each meeting.

Article VIII Terms of Membership

1. Membership is limited to individuals who live within the DCSD boundaries, are employed by DCSD, or attend or serve as guardians for someone who attends DCSD.

2.  In April of each calendar year, all written applications for membership, along with recommendations, shall be submitted to the District Staff liaison for eligibility review. The District Staff liaison will send eligible applications to the EAC Officers and the Membership subcommittee by the first Friday in April of the year to be considered for membership.

3. The EAC Officers and Membership subcommittee will review eligible applications and make

recommendations for interviews. The Membership subcommittee will conduct the membership

interviews.

4. The EAC will vote to approve membership in May of each calendar year.

5. Membership shall commence on June 1 of the year in which membership is approved, and the first meeting for new members shall occur in August of that year.

6. The following terms will be staggered with one third of the council serving for one (1) additional year, another third serving for two (2) additional years, and the remaining members serving for three (3) years. Subsequent terms will serve for three (3) years in length. Student representatives will serve for one (1) year. Council members will determine staggered terms.

7. Those appointed to serve on the EAC to fill vacancy, shall complete the term of said member and have the option of serving another term.

8. A committee member can be dismissed for persistent, pervasive, or severe violations of the EAC bylaws or school board policies.

9. Committee members may reapply for membership to serve for another term not to exceed a total of six years.

Article IX Subcommittees

1. Members may volunteer to participate in subcommittees. Subcommittees may include, and are not limited to:

a. Membership

b. Listening Sessions

c. Community Engagement

d. Policy Advocacy and Advisement

e. Hiring and Retention Practices and Advocacy for DCSD Staff

f. Bylaw Revision

g. Onboarding, Training, and Learning

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