College Station ISD board approves four district advisory committees

The College Station Independent School District board on July 15 approved the formation of four district advisory committees to provide input on programs and community engagement.

District staff presented the plan to create a GT Parent Advisory Committee, an Emergent Bilingual Family Advisory Committee, a Special Education Parent Advisory Committee and a District Community Advisory Committee. The board voted 6-0 to approve the formation.

District staff said the GT Parent Advisory Committee already met this spring and will continue through the following spring. The Emergent Bilingual Family Advisory Committee will include parents of emergent bilingual students and parents participating in dual-language programs; campus allocations and appointment criteria will follow campus capacity and ratio recommendations. The Special Education Parent Advisory Committee will include one parent per campus serving a renewable one-year term chosen by lottery. The District Community Advisory Committee will include at least two parents per school (selected by lottery), staff representatives from each campus and at least five community members such as business owners or faith leaders.

During discussion Trustee [name not specified in transcript] asked whether subject-matter experts who were not selected by lottery could be added; district staff said the district facilitator may appoint additional community members to bring specific expertise. Another trustee clarified that the emergent bilingual committee would include families from dual-language campuses as well as families of emergent bilingual students.

The motion to form the committees was made and seconded and carried 6-0. Staff said details on application and selection timelines will be provided to families and campuses.

The committees are intended to increase family and community engagement and provide ongoing feedback to district leadership on programming, transparency and continuous improvement.