School Council Bylaws and Operating Procedures

Ontario Regulation 612/00 sets out the mandate and roles and responsibilities that school councils must follow and so provides the constitution for each school council. However, each School Council is required to develop a set of Bylaws that provide mandatory criteria for Elections, Conflict of Interest, Filling Vacancies, and Conflict Resolution. Bylaws may also include Membership details and define the process for setting up committees, outline required council positions and roles (e.g. duties of the Chair), rules for running meetings and decision making, record keeping standards, and the process for parent engagement (See Section 7 of School Councils: A Guide for Members). Keep in mind that bylaws should make it easier for a council to operate consistently and transparently from year to year, rather than outline details (e.g. describing exact dates of meetings) that a future council may not be able to comply with. Once adopted a set of bylaws should only be amended via consultation with the school's council and parent community.

Note: A School Council's Bylaws must not contradict or cancel out the rules set out by the Ministry of Education in Ont. Reg 612/00 or Ont. Reg 298/01.

A council may also decide to draft Operating Procedures or Guidelines, which contain details of subcommittees, events planning, communication methods, financial procedures, where records and supplies are stored, how to book permits for meetings, how to recruit volunteers, etc. Operating Procedures may also contain forms and templates for project proposals, cash counting, cheque reimbursements, meeting minutes, or volunteer sign up.

School councils are also encouraged to adopt a Code of Ethics for members.

PIAC has provided example templates and samples to help School Councils develop their own specific Bylaws and Code of Ethics: