(a) Policy Council, Policy Committee, and Parent Committee structure. (1) Grantee and delegate agencies must establish and maintain a formal structure of shared governance through which parents can participate in policy making or in other decisions about the program. This structure must consist of the following groups, as required:

(i) Policy Council. This Council must be established at the grantee level.

(ii) Policy Committee. This Committee must be established at the delegate agency level when the program is administered in whole or in part by such agencies (see 45 CFR 1301.2 for a definition of a delegate agency).

(iii) Parent Committee. For center-based programs, this Committee must be established at the center level. For other program options, an equivalent Committee must be established at the local program level. When programs operate more than one option from the same site, the Parent Committee membership is combined unless parents choose to have a separate Committee for each option.

(2) Parent Committees must be comprised exclusively of the parents of children currently enrolled at the center level for center-based programs or at the equivalent level for other program options (see 45 CFR 1306.3(h) for a definition of a Head Start parent).

(3) All Policy Councils, Policy Committees, and Parent Committees must be established as early in the program year as possible. Grantee Policy Councils and delegate Policy Committees may not be dissolved until successor Councils or Committees are elected and seated.

(4) When a grantee has delegated the entire Head Start program to one delegate agency, it is not necessary to have a Policy Committee in addition to a grantee agency Policy Council.

(5) The governing body (the group with legal and fiscal responsibility for administering the Early Head Start or Head Start program) and the Policy Council or Policy Committee must not have identical memberships and functions.

(b) Policy group composition and formation. (1) Each grantee and delegate agency governing body operating an Early Head Start or Head Start program must (except where such authority is ceded to the Policy Council or Policy Committee) propose, within the framework of these regulations, the total size of their respective policy groups (based on the number of centers, classrooms or other program option units, and the number of children served by their Early Head Start or Head Start program), the procedures for the election of parent members, and the procedure for the selection of community representatives. These proposals must be approved by the Policy Council or Policy Committee.

(2) Policy Councils and Policy Committees must be comprised of two types of representatives: parents of currently enrolled children and community representatives. At least 51 percent of the members of these policy groups must be the parents of currently enrolled children (see 45 CFR 1306.3(h) for a definition of a Head Start parent).

(3) Community representatives must be drawn from the local community: businesses; public or private community, civic, and professional organizations; and others who are familiar with resources and services for low-income children and families, including for example the parents of formerly enrolled children.

(4) All parent members of Policy Councils or Policy Committees must stand for election or re-election annually. All community representatives also must be selected annually.

(5) Policy Councils and Policy Committees must limit the number of one-year terms any individual may serve on either body to a combined total of three terms.

(6) No grantee or delegate agency staff (or members of their immediate families) may serve on Policy Councils or Policy Committees except parents who occasionally substitute for regular Early Head Start or Head Start staff. In the case of Tribal grantees, this exclusion applies only to Tribal staff who work in areas directly related to or which directly impact upon any Early Head Start or Head Start administrative, fiscal or programmatic issues.

(7) Parents of children currently enrolled in all program options must be proportionately represented on established policy groups.

(c) Policy group responsibilities—general. At a minimum policy groups must be charged with the responsibilities described in paragraphs (d), (f), (g), and (h) of this section and repeated in appendix A of this section.

(d) The Policy Council or Policy Committee. (1) Policy Councils and Policy Committees must work in partnership with key management staff and the governing body to develop, review, and approve or disapprove the following policies and procedures:

(i) All funding applications and amendments to funding applications for Early Head Start and Head Start, including administrative services, prior to the submission of such applications to the grantee (in the case of Policy Committees) or to HHS (in the case of Policy Councils);

(ii) Procedures describing how the governing body and the appropriate policy group will implement shared decision-making;

(iii) Procedures for program planning in accordance with this part and the requirements of 45 CFR 1305.3;

(iv) The program's philosophy and long- and short-range program goals and objectives (see 45 CFR 1304.51(a) and 45 CFR 1305.3 for additional requirements regarding program planning);

(v) The selection of delegate agencies and their service areas (this regulation is binding on Policy Councils exclusively) (see 45 CFR 1301.33 and 45 CFR 1305.3(a) for additional requirements about delegate agency and service area selection, respectively);

(vi) The composition of the Policy Council or the Policy Committee and the procedures by which policy group members are chosen;

(vii) Criteria for defining recruitment, selection, and enrollment priorities, in accordance with the requirements of 45 CFR part 1305;

(viii) The annual self-assessment of the grantee or delegate agency's progress in carrying out the programmatic and fiscal intent of its grant application, including planning or other actions that may result from the review of the annual audit and findings from the Federal monitoring review (see 45 CFR 1304.51(i)(1) for additional requirements about the annual self-assessment);

(ix) Program personnel policies and subsequent changes to those policies, in accordance with 45 CFR 1301.31, including standards of conduct for program staff, consultants, and volunteers;

(x) Decisions to hire or terminate the Early Head Start or Head Start director of the grantee or delegate agency; and

(xi) Decisions to hire or terminate any person who works primarily for the Early Head Start or Head Start program of the grantee or delegate agency.

(2) In addition, Policy Councils and Policy Committees must perform the following functions directly:

(i) Serve as a link to the Parent Committees, grantee and delegate agency governing bodies, public and private organizations, and the communities they serve;

(ii) Assist Parent Committees in communicating with parents enrolled in all program options to ensure that they understand their rights, responsibilities, and opportunities in Early Head Start and Head Start and to encourage their participation in the program;

(iii) Assist Parent Committees in planning, coordinating, and organizing program activities for parents with the assistance of staff, and ensuring that funds set aside from program budgets are used to support parent activities;

(iv) Assist in recruiting volunteer services from parents, community residents, and community organizations, and assist in the mobilization of community resources to meet identified needs; and

(v) Establish and maintain procedures for working with the grantee or delegate agency to resolve community complaints about the program.

(e) Parent Committee. The Parent Committee must carry out at least the following minimum responsibilities:

(1) Advise staff in developing and implementing local program policies, activities, and services;

(2) Plan, conduct, and participate in informal as well as formal programs and activities for parents and staff; and

(3) Within the guidelines established by the governing body, Policy Council, or Policy Committee, participate in the recruitment and screening of Early Head Start and Head Start employees.

(f) Policy Council, Policy Committee, and Parent Committee reimbursement. Grantee and delegate agencies must enable low-income members to participate fully in their group responsibilities by providing, if necessary, reimbursements for reasonable expenses incurred by the members.

(g) Governing body responsibilities. (1) Grantee and delegate agencies must have written policies that define the roles and responsibilities of the governing body members and that inform them of the management procedures and functions necessary to implement a high quality program.

(2) Grantee and delegate agencies must ensure that appropriate internal controls are established and implemented to safeguard Federal funds in accordance with 45 CFR 1301.13.

(h) Internal dispute resolution. Each grantee and delegate agency and Policy Council or Policy Committee jointly must establish written procedures for resolving internal disputes, including impasse procedures, between the governing body and policy group.