February 8, 2010

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Senate Bill 283 became effective on September 1, 2009. This Act has requirements related to our local School Health Advisory Council (SHAC). The School Board appointed council members for 2009-2010 are as follows:

Ronnie Pewitt Parent Co-chair

Tammy Pewitt, LVN School Nurse Co-chair

Kelly Penny Parent

Teresa McBride Parent

Dale Carmichael Parent

Robin Carmichael, RN School Nurse

Scott McPherson High School Principal

In addition to the above members, the food service director, physical education teachers, and campus and district administrators attend SHAC meetings, as well.

The PISD School Health Advisory Council was established during the 2005-2006 school year and collaboratively works on areas such as Wellness policies, Health education curriculum, School menu/nutrition services, Physical activity requirements, and Health issues.

Besides requiring the board of trustees to appoint at least five members to the SHAC with a chair or co-chair position filled by a parent, SB 283 also requires the SHAC to submit a written report explaining their activities during the prior 12-month period to the board of trustees, not later than April 1, 2010. SHAC must meet at least four times each year.

SB 283 also requires a school district, before each school year, to provided written notice to parents of the board of trustee’s decision regarding if the district will provide human sexuality instruction to students. The SHAC discussed the PISD health curriculum and concluded the content was not what they considered human sexuality instruction. Reviewed were the Grade 4 boys’ puberty talk, the Grade 3 puberty talk for girls, and the Aims for Success Abstinence Program for students in Grades 6-12, which all require parental permission for students to attend. Parents may remove students from any part of this instruction without subjecting the student to any disciplinary action, academic penalty, or other sanction imposed by the district or the student’s school. All other instruction, provided in district health and science courses follows the required Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and is noted in each campus Student Handbook.

Parents and guardians with questions on basic content or requests to review the curriculum materials of any of the programs listed above are encouraged to call the campus administrators or Nurse Robin Carmichael, RN at 969-5053 or Nurse Tammy Pewitt LVN at 969-5042. Senate Bill 283 authorizes a parent to use the grievance procedure adopted under Section 26.011 concerning a complaint of a violation.

Opportunities for parental involvement are available by attending SHAC meetings, assisting at health screenings, organizing and participating in walks, such as the Diabetes Walk on April 24, 2010. For more information go to www.pisd.net and view SHAC under Public Information.

Sincerely,

Monty Chapman, Superintendent