In 1992 The Texas Education Agency (TEA) created the mandate for Site Based Decision Making Committees.

The basic premise of site-based decision making is that the most effective decisions are made by those who will actually implement the decisions. The belief is that people involved at the campus level have a greater opportunity to identify problems, develop problem resolution and change strategy than people located off-campus. Site-based decision making concepts also recognize that people at the campus level are more likely to internalize change and to support its implementation if they are involved in the decision making than if they are not - https://tea.texas.gov/system/files/SbdmV14.pdf

Big Picture: The Site-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Committee is an advisory panel of parents, teachers, and community stakeholders for the benefit of the principal.

For example, let’s say the district mandates that:

• All elementary schools have to implement some school safety measures with broad guidelines to follow. The principal might ask the SBDM panel for guidance on how parents want to comply with the guidelines.
• Topics can vary from public health and safety to brainstorming ideas to improve 3rd grade math scores.

The buck ultimately stops with the principal at every campus, the SBDM acts as a sounding board for the principal so that multiple perspectives are understood and addressed when implementing complex changes.

1. SBDM Committees are responsible for representing their community in 4 categories of members:

• Staff
• Parents
• Community Stakeholders
• Business and Industry Representatives

1. SBDM Committees are responsible for a Campus Improvement Plan:
   1. Each campus improvement plan must:
      1. assess the academic achievement for each student in the school
      2. set the campus performance objectives
      3. identify how the campus goals will be met for each student;
      4. determine the resources needed to implement the plan;
      5. identify staff needed to implement the plan;
      6. set timelines for reaching the goals;
      7. measure progress toward the performance objectives periodically to ensure that the plan is resulting in academic improvement;
      8. include goals and methods for violence prevention and intervention on campus;
      9. provide for a program to encourage parental involvement at the campus and
      10. if the campus is an elementary, etc, set goals and objectives for the coordinated health program at the campus based on:
          1. student fitness assessment data
          2. student academic performance data;
          3. student attendance rates;
          4. the percentage of students who are educationally disadvantaged;
          5. the use and success of any method to ensure that students participate in moderate to vigorous physical activity as required by Section 28.002(1); and
          6. any other indicator recommended by the local school advisory council.

Sub Committees