A Round Lake Area Board of Education committee on Oct. 6 outlined plans to roll out a formal CPAC advisory committee focused on students with disabilities and described expanded community-engagement work the district will compile and present at a future meeting.

Committee member Ms. Conler said the CPAC (Community Parent Advisory Council) will be a formal advisory body composed primarily of parents, guardians and students with disabilities and will work in partnership with district administration to improve special education programs and services. She said the CPAC will draft its own bylaws and that the committee expects to receive those bylaws by the next board agenda for review.

Conler described the CPAC as structured similarly to a board meeting and said the group will host a website and an application process for parents. The CPAC will set a minimum membership target and maintain a running list of applicants to populate the advisory committee.

The committee also discussed compiling existing engagement efforts into a single presentation so board members and staff can see where outreach is already happening and where gaps remain. Proposed sample session topics for future engagement included academic programming, curriculum development, school finance, family engagement, communication strategies and student services including social-emotional supports.

No formal board action was taken on the CPAC at the Oct. 6 meeting; the committee said bylaws and further details will return to the board for review in a future agenda item.