Plan now for your school council election next fall

School council elections for parent positions must take place within the first 30 days of the school year. Council positions are one-year terms—which means elections happen annually. Parents must make up the majority of council members. Here’s what a functioning council should look like:

Elementary/middle (no student member)	Secondary (with a student member)
Five parent members One teacher rep One non-teaching staff rep Community member Principal (no vote)	Six parent members One teacher rep One non-teaching staff rep Community member Student Principal (no vote)

Some schools choose to have additional parent reps on the council—this should be outlined in the school’s School Council Bylaws. The elected members listed above have decision-making roles—this means they can vote if a vote is ever necessary (with the exception of the principal, who does not have a vote). Other parents of the school are encouraged to attend meetings, participate in dialogue and join sub-committees.

School Council election timelines

When	What
May/June	Establish an election committee  to deal with the school council election of parent members. The committee should include current parent members of the school council.
Early to mid-June	A plan is put in place to deal with how the school council election will occur. By the last council meeting of the school year, the date,  time, and location of the election are determined, as well as how the election will be advertised in the fall. A nomination form is also developed (see template).
Mid-August	In welcome-back-to-school information, the principal includes parent-candidate nomination forms and information about the date by which nominations must be received at the school, who is eligible to stand for election, the date of the election, and other information about the election. This package must be in parents’ hands at least fourteen days prior to the election.
Early September	The principal posts school council election information in an area of the school that is easily accessible to parents. Good venues would be the bulletin board and the school website. Parents return nomination forms to the school.
Early to mid-September	A list of parent nominees with brief biographies is sent home or mailed out, with a reminder of the election date and information on the election process. If the school doesn’t receive enough nominations to warrant an election, then the nominated parents can be appointed to council.
Mid- to end September	The ballot box is prepared for the election of parent representatives, and arrangements are made for volunteers to help voters at the voting areas. Ballots are made available (see template) The election of the teacher, non-teacher, and student representatives may take place at the same time or shortly after the election of parent representatives. Staff reps are elected by their staff group, the student rep is appointed by the student council. The community member is appointed by the school council once it is formed.
Late September to early October	First meeting of the new school council takes place, and meeting dates, times, and locations for the upcoming year are determined. (The first meeting of the new school council must take place within thirty-five days of the start of school.) The names of the new school council members are publicized to the school community within thirty days of the election, as are the dates, times, and locations of future meetings. This could be done on a bulletin board at the school, through the newsletter and on the school website.