In this guide

Parent(s) refers to parent(s) and/or guardian(s). A guardian is a person who has lawful custody of a child. Review other key terms in this guide.

Your school council can set up committees if your bylaws allow it. These bylaws must also say how many committees you can have.

Why committees are helpful

Committees help:

  • parents and community members get involved in areas that match their interests, skills and availability
  • share the workload and bring in more voices

Who can join a committee

Each committee must include at least one parent member of school council. Other members don’t need to be part of the council.

What committees can do

Committees can focus on topics that support the school council’s priorities. These might include:

  • creating bylaws
  • finding parent volunteers
  • planning special events
  • helping with parent member elections

Committee meetings

Meetings can be held at the school and must:

  • follow the same rules as school council meetings
  • be open and accessible to the public
  • be in person, by telephone or electronic means or a combination of both
  • be publicized by the principal, just like regular council meetings