Program Description

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education established and approved the campus-level planning and decision-making process in 1992. This process includes the creation and maintenance of a Shared Decision-Making Committee (SDMC) at each school to review the district's educational goals, objectives, and major district wide classroom instructional programs. Each committee is designed to involve professional and non-professional staff, parents, community members, and business representatives in establishing academic and other performance objectives of the school for each academic excellence indicator adopted in the Texas Education Code (TEC §11.253, TEC §39.051). The SDMC was authorized to fulfill the following responsibilities:

1. Implement all pertinent campus-level planning processes;
2. Develop recommendations for the school budget;
3. Submit recommendations for the school curriculum;
4. Recommend changes in the school's staffing patterns;
5. Develop and approve the campus staff development plans;
6. Develop, review, and revise the School Improvement Plan (SIP) for the purpose of improving student performance for all student populations (after principal approval of the SIP, the SDMC presents the plan to staff for approval);
7. Review and make recommendations regarding the school's organizational structure, and
8. Establish procedures to periodically obtain broad-based community, parent, and staff input.

The SDMC is required to meet at least once a year to discuss the performance of the school and the school's objectives. A record of all decisions and significant discussion items must be maintained by the committee. This information should be disseminated to appropriate school and district personnel as well as be available upon request for public review.