Section 9 (3) of Regulation 464/97 deals with the election of Chair and Vice-chair of SEAC. The regulation says:
“The members of the committee shall, at their first meeting, elect one of their members as chair and one of their members as vice-chair.”
SEAC practices related to the Chair and Vice-chair vary across the province and many school boards have policies or by-laws regarding the process for electing or appointing Chairs and Vice-chairs. The process for electing SEAC Chair and Vice-Chair must be compliant with the regulation and the school board policies and procedures.
PAAC on SEAC recommends that each school board SEAC have a policy in place that describes:
- The term and qualifications of the Chair and Vice-chair;
- The responsibilities of the Chair and Vice-chair;
- The process of electing the Chair and Vice-chair;
- The process for holding a meeting in the absence of the Chair and Vice-chair.
Effective Practices related to the roles and responsibilities of the SEAC Chair and Vice-chair include:
- Provide all members of SEAC with the opportunity to be considered for election as Chair or Vice-chair.
- Assign the Chair and Vice-chair joint responsibility for setting the Agenda and reviewing the Minutes.
- Include time keeping during meetings and tracking future agenda items as responsibilities of the Vice-chair.
- Provide information and training to SEAC members on the process of electing the Chair and Vice-Chair, including the process for nominations, sample motions related to nominations, destroying the ballots, etc.