School-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council

Every school in Kentucky has an SBDM Council that oversees many of the most important decisions made in a school. In the 1990 legislative session, the Kentucky General Assembly passed HB 940, which is best known as the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). One substantial change that came along with KERA was KRS 1​60.345​​, which outlined school-based decision making councils. 

Membership of each school's local council includes parents, teachers, and an administrator of the school. School councils promote shared leadership among those who are closest to the students. School councils have the responsibility to set school policy and make decisions which should provide an environment to enhance student achievement. The policies should assist in meeting the goals established in KRS 158.645 and KRS 158.6451. 

Elections to fill Parent Representative vacancies at Buckner Elementary School occur each Spring semester. Watch for nomination and election information via email from BES administration during the Spring semester. Email sbdm@bucknerpto.org with any questions.

Current SBDM Members for 2024-2025 School Year:

Richard Parrott (Principal)

Julie Brown  (Teacher Representative)

Danielle McManus  (Teacher Representative)

Raine Rogers  (Teacher Representative)

Ryan Hamilton  (Parent Representative, July 2023 to June 2025)

Roderick Pack  (Parent/Minority Representative, July 2024 to June 2026)

Parent Representative Responsibilities:

SBDM is an opportunity for families to work in harmony with teachers and school administrators toward establishing goals for student success. Parent representatives serving on the school council should:

• Be aware of all assessments administered to students and the school’s results.

• Understand how the school functions.

• Understand the school council structure, including the structure and functions of the school council committees, if any. 

• Be willing to make the time commitment necessary to be an effective member of a school council. 

• Promote communication and exchange of information. 

• Understand that the school council has not replaced the role of the school principal. 

Parent Representative Eligibility:

To be eligible to serve on the school council, parents must have a student enrolled or preregistered to attend the school for the year they will be serving on the council. Additionally, eligibility requirements are as follows:

• The definition of parent includes anyone who is a parent, stepparent, foster parent and/or a person who has legal custody of a student (KRS 160.345(1)(d)).

• A parent representative on the school council cannot be an employee or relative of an employee of the school in which that parent serves, nor shall the parent representative be an employee or a relative of an employee in the district administrative offices (KRS 160.345(2)(a)).

• A parent representative cannot be a local board of education member or the spouse of a board member (KRS 160.345(2)(a)). 

Requirements for Annual Training:

(See Chapter 7 of the School-Based Decision Making Handbook for more details)

Prior to the elections being held for the parent and teacher representatives to the council, it is important that members understand that training of council members is mandated [KRS 160.345(6)]. New members are required to obtain six hours of training in the implementation of School-based Decision Making no later than 30 days after the beginning of the service year in which they are elected to serve. Experienced members are required to obtain three hours of training in the implementation of SBDM no later than 120 days after the beginning of the service year in which they are elected to serve. 

New SBDM members must take the SBDM 101 course. Completion of the course will meet the requirement of the six-hour required training. This course can be completed in a face-to-face session or online with KET. Experienced SBDM members may complete their three-hour training requirement by completing any of the training modules offered by KDE or one of the approved alternative modules created by a KDE partner. More information regarding training opportunities can be found on the SBDM Training Modules Flyer. 

A parent school council representative must submit to a criminal fingerprint background check by the Kentucky State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and also submit a letter from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) stating the member has no administrative findings of substantiated child abuse or neglect through a background check of child abuse and neglect records (KRS 160.380(11)).

SBDM Documents & Resources:

Spring 2025 BES SBDM Parent Rep - Nomination Letter & Form (Nomination window OPEN through Friday, March 28, 2025)

Buckner Elementary School's SBDM Website (including meeting dates, agendas, minutes, and local BES SBDM policies) 

SBDM - KDE Documents & Resources (via Kentucky Department of Education)

School-Based Decision Making Handbook (via Kentucky Department of Education)

SBDM Frequently Asked Questions (via Kentucky Department of Education)