Governing Board Procedures

Adopted July 1, 2010
Amended May 5, 2022*

I. Purpose

This document shall be known as the “Governing Board Procedures.” These Governing Board Procedures establish a governance structure for the orderly operation and decision making of Smarter Balanced (“Smarter Balanced”). Smarter Balanced is a program that is administered by a hosting Organization, known as the “Fiscal Agent.” Currently, the Fiscal Agent is the Regents of the University of California (“The Regents”).

These Governing Board Procedures memorialize the desire of Members of Smarter Balanced to act with common purpose in support of the operation and betterment of Smarter Balanced. The governance structure of Smarter Balanced is hereby set forth in this document, and is subject to the specific governance structure provisions set forth in a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between a Member of Smarter Balanced (“Member”) and the Fiscal Agent. ¹ Upon adoption (or future amendment), a copy of this document shall be provided to each Member.

¹ Member MOUs are between Member states and The Regents of the University of California, not the State of California. The Regents are an independent public corporation established by the California Constitution with virtual autonomy in self-governance. (See California Constitution, Art. IX, section 9.). The Fiscal Agent is not a party to these Governing Board Procedures.

II. The Smarter Balanced Assessment System

A. Priorities of Smarter Balanced

Smarter Balanced priorities for a next-generation K-12 assessment system are memorialized in the Smarter Balanced Theory of Action. These priorities are rooted in a commitment to develop and maintain valid, reliable, and fair assessments of the deep disciplinary understanding and higher-order thinking skills that are increasingly demanded by a knowledge-based economy. These priorities are also rooted in a belief that assessments must support ongoing improvements in instruction and learning, and must be useful for all members of the educational enterprise: students, parents, teachers, school administrators, members of the public, and policymakers.

Smarter Balanced will maintain and continuously improve a system of assessment tools and services for its Members based upon the Common Core State Standards in English language arts/Literacy and mathematics with the intent that all students across Smarter Balanced will know their progress toward college and career readiness.

Smarter Balanced recognizes the need for a system of formative assessment practices and strategies as well as interim, and summative assessments, aligned to the Common Core State Standards, that support high-quality learning and the demands of accountability, and that balance concerns for innovative assessment with the need for a fiscally sustainable system that is feasible to implement. The efforts of Smarter Balanced are organized to accomplish these goals.

B. Principles

The comprehensive assessment system developed by Smarter Balanced and used by Members of Smarter Balanced includes the following key elements and principles:

1. Improving Decisions about Student Learning

A comprehensive system of assessment services and tools that is grounded in a thoughtfully integrated learning system of standards, curriculum, assessment, instruction, and teacher development can inform better decision-making at the classroom, school, district, state and policy levels.

2. Assessing Deeper Learning

The assessment system is designed to measure the full range of the Common Core State Standards including those that measure higher-order skills and shall inform progress toward and achievement of readiness for higher education and multiple work domains. The system emphasizes deep knowledge of core concepts within and across the disciplines, problem solving, analysis, synthesis, and critical thinking.

3. Teacher Involvement

Smarter Balanced places high value on the involvement of teachers in the design, development, and scoring of assessment items and tasks.

4. Use of Technology

Smarter Balanced strives to use and advance technologies to:

- Enable adaptive techniques and strategies;
- Better measure student abilities across the full spectrum of student performance and evaluate growth in learning;
- Support tasks that test higher-order abilities;
- Score student responses; and
- Deliver the responses to trained scorers/teachers to access from an electronic platform.

Technology applications are designed and constantly updated to maximize interoperability across user platforms, which is enhanced by Smarter Balanced commitment to utilize open-source development to the greatest extent possible.

5. Measuring Performance and Growth

Through the application of sophisticated measurement models, Smarter Balanced summative assessments are designed to yield scores that can be used to support evaluations of student performance and growth, as well as school, teacher, and principal effectiveness in an efficient and fair manner.

6. Availability of Interim Assessments

Smarter Balanced provides its Members with optional on-demand assessments that will continue to be enhanced over time. The purpose of these interim assessments is to allow teachers to see where students are on multiple dimensions of learning and to strategically support their progress.

7. Availability of Tools That Support Formative Practices

Smarter Balanced provides its members with optional tools and services to enhance the capacity of current and prospective teachers and administrators to design and use effective classroom-based assessment strategies and practices.

8. Maximizing Access to the Assessments

All components of the system incorporate principles of Universal Design that seek to remove construct-irrelevant aspects of tasks that could increase barriers for non-native English speakers and students with other specific learning needs.

9. Linkage to College and Career Readiness

Summative results in the 11th grade are intended to help all students prepare to enter college-level courses, or the workplace, without the need for remedial work in English language arts and math. Representatives from higher education and employers/business leaders are involved in the work of the Smarter Balanced Assessment System in order to develop and link the design and scoring of the assessments to evidence of college and career readiness, and to sustain these linkages over time.

III. Membership

A. Definition

There are two categories of membership in Smarter Balanced – Governing Members and Affiliate Members, which are referred to collectively as “Members.”

A Governing Member is defined as a state, the District of Columbia, a US territory, a US commonwealth, or other educational entity (including but not limited to the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) and the federal Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)) that has an active MOU with the Fiscal Agent for the purpose of access to Smarter Balanced resources. Membership as a Governing Member is initiated when both parties have signed the MOU and expires upon termination of the MOU. The Governing Board may establish conditions for suspension or reinstatement of a Governing Member. The chief school officer of a Governing Member shall identify a K-12 Lead and a Higher Education Lead, as defined in IV.B and IV.C, below.

An Affiliate Member is defined as a state, the District of Columbia, a US territory, a US Commonwealth or other educational entity that does not have an MOU with the Fiscal Agent. States may become Affiliate Members by submitting a letter requesting membership to the Executive Committee and Fiscal Agent. Affiliate Members may participate in activities available to Governing Members, but do not pay Annual Fees to the Fiscal Agent and cannot access Consortium assessments and professional development or receive Consortium services unless approved by the Executive Committee. The chief school officer of an Affiliate Member shall identify a K-12 Lead and a Higher Education Lead, as defined in IV.B and IV.C, below. The Governing Board may establish conditions for suspension or reinstatement of an Affiliate Member.

The Executive Committee may authorize the Executive Director to expend resources to support an Affiliate Member's or prospective member's progress towards implementation of the Smarter Balanced Assessment System, subject to Fiscal Agent’s approval. Any financial expenditure will be executed in a manner that is compliant with the Fiscal Agent’s rules and Consortium expenditure policies.

The Executive Committee will approve any prospective contract with a Non-Member.

B. Conditions of Membership

In addition to the obligations undertaken pursuant to the MOU with the Fiscal Agent, Governing Member agrees to:

1. Actively engage in Smarter Balanced discussion and activities;
2. Maintain the security of testing materials consistent with their security designation;
3. Adhere to the policies and principles detailed in these Governing Board Procedures as adopted and amended as long as the policies and principles are not in conflict with a state’s law, policies or interests;
4. Engage in decision making regarding how the Consortium can better meet the needs of students, teachers and other stakeholders

An Affiliate Member agrees to actively engage in Smarter Balanced discussion and activities.

C. Opportunities for Engagement by Non-members

A state, the District of Columbia, a US territory, a US commonwealth, private and non-profit organizations, or other educational entity (including but not limited to the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) and the federal Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)) may, pursuant to guidelines set by the Executive Committee, enter into a customized memorandum of understanding with the Fiscal Agent as a non-member customer (“Customer”). The customized memorandum of understanding is subject to a Customer specific determination of services, access to intellectual property, terms and conditions, and associated fees. The Governing Board may establish conditions for suspension or reinstatement of a Customer.

IV. Organizational Structure

A. Governing Board

1. Definition

The Governing Board consists of the chief state school officers (“State Chief”) of all Governing Members (“Governing Board”.) Each Governing Board member has one vote.

2. Meetings

The Governing Board shall hold a minimum of two (2) in-person meetings each year, and may meet by conference call as necessary. Meetings of the Governing Board are conducted by the Executive Committee Chair, who is a non-voting participant unless designated as a voting member by his/her State Chief.

3. Matters Requiring Governing Board Approval

The Governing Board shall vote on all policies and other matters of significant importance that come before it. Topics that require Governing Board approval (subject to any requirements of the MOU) are:

a. The annual Smarter Balanced budget, to be proposed by Smarter Balanced approval of other annual Planning Documents, and approval of changes to the Planning Documents;
b. Annual Fees;
c. The Strategic Plan for Smarter Balanced.
d. Budget line item changes that are greater than $100,000; The Consortium will schedule fiscal reviews and budget adjustments as necessary to confirm compliance with Smarter Balanced governance and the Fiscal Agent’s policies;
e. Amendments to this Governing Board Procedures document;
f. At any time, designating a Governing Board Representative (as defined in the MOU) who is not the current Executive Committee Chair. Otherwise, the role of Governing Board Representative is assigned to the Executive Committee Chair, and
g. Other matters brought to the Governing Board by the Executive Committee.

4. Governing Board Decision Process

Consensus will be the goal of all decisions. The Executive Committee will bring issues to the Governing Board with a request for consideration and approval.

In cases where the Executive Committee has identified an issue that requires consensus between K-12 and higher education (or another key stakeholder), each State Chief (or designee) casting a vote is responsible for ensuring that he/she has consulted with the appropriate non-K-12 individuals to develop a mutually agreeable position on that issue. The Executive Director should confirm with the affected parties, when necessary, that such agreement has been achieved.

Process for Governing Board decisions that require a vote:

- Step 1: Smarter Balanced shall provide Governing Board members with information on the decision or issue at least five (5) working days in advance of a scheduled discussion.
- Step 2: Governing Board members shall have an opportunity to discuss the decision or issue at a time scheduled.
- Step 3: A vote is conducted on the issue or decision. Votes may be conducted orally during a scheduled meeting of the Governing Board. They may also be conducted over email with an attached ballot, or virtually on an internal Smarter Balanced Web site, with a published deadline for voting at least five (5) business days after balloting has opened. For voting to be valid, a quorum of half the Governing Board (or designees) plus one must vote. Members not voting shall be counted as abstaining. Abstentions do not count in tallying the vote negatively or positively and do not contribute to the quorum. If a unanimous decision is reached, the issue or decision is resolved. If unanimity is not reached, the process shall proceed to Steps 4 and 5, below.
- Step 4: Smarter Balanced staff will coordinate discussions, as needed, to review, evaluate, and attempt to resolve any Member concerns. As appropriate, staff will provide all Governing Members with additional information regarding the issue, which may include alternative options to resolve issues.
- Step 5: A second vote is conducted on the decision or issue. For votes taken in a face-to-face meeting, the second vote can occur in close proximity to the first vote; for votes taken remotely, at least five (5) business days must separate the first vote from the second vote. For voting to be valid, a quorum of half of the Governing Member chiefs (or their designees) plus one must vote. States not voting shall be counted as abstaining. Abstentions do not count in tallying the vote negatively or positively and do not contribute to the quorum.
  - If the vote is equal to or greater than a two-thirds majority of the quorum, the decision is considered approved.
  - If the vote is less than a two-thirds majority of the quorum, the decision is not approved.

For decisions that are not approved, the Executive Committee may deliberate and consider concerns, and then re-submit a request to the Governing Board.

B. K-12 Leads

1. Definition and Qualifications

Each Governing Member and Affiliate Member shall designate an individual to serve in the role of K-12 Lead. The State Chief for each Member of Smarter Balanced shall appoint the K-12 Lead. The State Chief may serve in this role.

A K-12 Lead must meet the following criteria:

a. Be an employee of the Member’s education agency;
b. Have prior experience in either the design or implementation of curriculum and/or assessment systems at the policy or implementation level; and
c. Be able and willing to serve as the liaison between Smarter Balanced and the Member’s education community.

2. Responsibilities

The responsibilities for a K-12 Lead include:

a. Provide regular updates to the State Chief regarding short-term and long-term planning, developments, and implementation of Smarter Balanced activities;
b. In consultation with appropriate Member stakeholders (State Chief, higher education lead, policy leaders, LEAs, etc.), assist Smarter Balanced in the development of positions on matters related to the assessment system;
c. Brief the State Chief on topics pertaining to upcoming decisions needed from the Governing Board, and assist in the formulation of the Member’s position;
d. Based on these positions and if called upon to do so, vote on behalf of the Member in decisions pertaining to the assessment system;
e. Review and approve requests for proposals;
f. Be the primary point of contact between the Member and Smarter Balanced;
g. Facilitate communications between the Member’s educational network and Smarter Balanced staff;
h. Attend regularly scheduled Smarter Balanced meetings, and serve as a representative of the Member, as necessary.

C. Higher Education Leads

1. Definition and Qualifications

The State Chief for each Member shall coordinate with the State Higher Education Executive Officer (SHEEO) – or equivalent(s) – to identify a Higher Education Lead for the Member. The Higher Education Lead should be selected through collaboration and mutual agreement with the post-secondary educational system(s) within the state or entity.

Higher Education Leads must meet the following criteria:

a. Be an employee of an institution of higher education or higher education agency in the Member’s jurisdiction;
b. Have substantial knowledge and experience about the purposes, development and use of postsecondary placement and admissions policies at the state, system or institutional level and experience in either the design or implementation of placement or admissions procedures at the policy or implementation level; and
c. Be willing to serve as the liaison between Smarter Balanced and the Member’s higher education community and promote the use of Smarter Balanced in their state as a measurement of college and career readiness.

2. Responsibilities

The responsibilities for a Higher Education Lead include:

a. Meet on a regular basis with the State Chief and/or the K-12 lead to become informed on updates regarding short-term and long-term planning, developments, and implementation of Smarter Balanced activities;
b. In consultation with appropriate higher education state stakeholders assist Smarter Balanced in the development of positions on matters related to the assessment system;
c. Brief higher education leadership on topics pertaining to upcoming decisions coming before the Governing Board, and, when necessary, assist in the formulation of the Member’s higher education position;
d. Facilitate communications between the Member’s higher education networks and Smarter Balanced staff;
e. Attend regularly scheduled Smarter Balanced meetings, as necessary.

D. Executive Committee

1. Definition

An Executive Committee comprising seven (7) elected officers shall provide Member perspectives for planning and development needs and shall liaise with the Fiscal Agent on behalf of Smarter Balanced Members as necessary and as appropriate under the Member’s MOU with the Fiscal Agent. The Executive Committee identifies and frames policy decisions in advance of Governing Board action.

2. Composition

The Executive Committee is composed of seven (7) positions, as follows: Chair, ChairElect, Past-Chair, two (2) At-Large K-12 positions, one (1) Higher Education positions, and one (1) Post-Secondary Careers position. Both the Executive Director and up to three (3) additional appointees from the Fiscal Agent are non-voting members of the Executive Committee.

3. Responsibilities of the Executive Committee Members

The responsibilities of the Executive Committee include the following:

a. Identify and frame policy decisions to be forwarded to the Governing Board for action;
b. Evaluate the Executive Director annually;
c. Recommend to the Fiscal Agent a candidate to serve as Executive Director and to recommend when to dismiss the incumbent Executive Director as required to fulfill the Consortium’s mission;
d. Approve the organizational structure of the Smarter Balanced program;
e. Oversee development and sustainability of the Smarter Balanced Comprehensive Assessment System;
f. Provide coordination of the services provided by the Fiscal Agent;
g. Appoint members to and provide oversight of working groups, task forces, and advisory panels (e.g., Technical Advisory Committee, Student with Disabilities Advisory Committee, etc.);
h. Appoint standing committees;
i. Recommend to the Fiscal Agent to approve expenditures of greater than $25,000;
j. Identify issues that require Governing Members to develop mutually agreeable policy positions;
k. Receive and act upon special and regular reports from the Fiscal Agent or senior Smarter Balanced staff;
l. Recommend to the Fiscal Agent to approve any contract or license with prospective Non-Members; and
m. Announce any potential conflict of interests regarding agenda topics and recuse oneself as appropriate.

In addition to the Committee-level responsibilities listed above, each individual Executive Committee member is responsible to:

a. Be available to serve as the liaison to a working group, task force, advisory panel, or other committee authorized by the Executive Committee; and
b. Diligently prepare for and regularly attend Executive Committee meetings.

4. Responsibilities of the Chair, Chair-Elect, and Past-Chair

In addition to the responsibilities of Executive Committee members, responsibilities of the Chair, Chair-Elect, and Past Chair are as follows.

Chair

Responsibilities of the Chair of the Executive Committee include:

a. Serve as the Executive Committee’s Governing Board Representative (as defined in the MOU, the single point of contact between the Governing Board and the Fiscal Agent and between the Governing Board and each Member), unless the Governing Board designates a different person to fill that role;
b. Attend meetings of both the Executive Committee and the Governing Board;
c. Approve agendas for and chair meetings of Smarter Balanced Members and the Executive Committee;
d. Approve agendas for and act as chair for meetings of the Governing Board at which votes will be taken;
e. Attend meetings of the Technical Advisory Committee and the Policy and Content Advisory Committee;
f. Coordinate with the Executive Committee to provide oversight of Smarter Balanced;
g. Coordinate the selection and evaluation of the Executive Director;
h. Oversee the work of the Executive Committee;
i. Monitor the extent to which Smarter Balanced leadership, including Executive Committee members, K-12 Leads, and Higher Education Leads, follow through with their assigned responsibilities, and intervene as necessary;
j. Provide guidance to the Chair-Elect to ensure that the transition of authority and responsibilities is smooth and orderly; and
k. As necessary, represent Smarter Balanced to internal and external stakeholders.
l. Ask members to recuse themselves from meetings as appropriate based on potential conflicts of interest.

Chair-Elect

The responsibilities of the Chair-Elect of the Executive Committee include:

a. Act in capacity of designee for the Chair whenever the Chair is unable to carry out his/her duties;
b. Attend meetings of both the Executive Committee and the Governing Board;
c. Attend meetings of the Technical Advisory Committee and the Policy and Content Advisory Committee; and
d. As necessary, represent Smarter Balanced to internal and external stakeholders.

Past-Chair

The responsibilities of the Past-Chair of the Executive Committee include:

a. Act in capacity of designee for the Chair whenever the Chair and Chair-Elect are unable to carry out their duties;
b. Attend all meetings of both the Executive Committee and the Governing Board;
and
c. As necessary, represent Smarter Balanced to internal and external stakeholders

5. Executive Committee Decision Making

a. The Executive Director or the Chair may schedule a meeting of the Executive Committee only if Executive Committee members are provided with at least five (5) calendar days’ advanced notice or all Executive Committee members waive the five-day notice requirement.
b. The Executive Committee may conduct business and take action only in the presence of a quorum of at least fifty (50) percent plus one of the voting members of the Executive Committee.
c. An affirmative vote by a majority of at least fifty (50) percent plus one of the entire voting membership of the Executive Committee is required for a motion to pass.
d. The individual vote of each voting Executive Committee member is recorded for the record by the Executive Director, or designee.
e. In the case of a tie vote of the Executive Committee, the motion will fail.

6. Qualifications of Candidates for the Executive Committee

a. Candidates may be self-nominated or may be nominated by a third party. Nominations submitted by a third party must include confirmation that the nominee would accept the nomination.
b. The Executive Director shall determine that a nominee is a qualified candidate for a position, after receipt of:

i. Approval of the nomination by the State Chief of the nominee’s state of residence, which must be from among the Governing Members. Approval should be a letter or email from the Chief confirming the nomination.
ii. Confirmation of a willingness to fulfill the responsibilities of the position and acknowledgement of the likely time commitment required of Executive Committee members;
iii. A commitment to act toward the common benefit of the Members, and not merely as a representative of a particular Member; and
iv. A brief biographical narrative, not to exceed 300 words, describing the candidate’s applicable experience and interest in serving on the Executive Committee.
v. Confirmation that the slate of candidates for the Chair-Elect or for the AtLarge K-12 positions does not present the possibility of two (or more) individuals from the same Member serving at the same time. (For clarity: the three Chair positions must be three individuals from three distinct Governing Members; likewise, the two K-12 At-Large positions must represent two distinct Governing Members. However, one (or both) of the At-Large positions may be from the same Governing Member as one (or more) of the Chair positions.)

7. Elections and Terms of Office

a. Regularly scheduled elections shall take place annually prior to installation of newly elected officers on the first workday in September.
b. A special election to fill a vacancy on the Executive Committee is authorized if there are more than six (6) months remaining in the office-holder’s term. If there are less than six (6) months remaining in the term, the vacancy may be filled at the next regularly scheduled election.
c. If at any point, an incumbent Chair leaves before the officer-holder’s term is complete,

i. The Chair-Elect will become Chair and complete both the current officeholder’s term and following 1 year term;
ii. An election for the Chair-Elect will be authorized consistent with section 7(b); and
iii. The Executive Director may ask that:
(iii.a) the Past-Chair serve as Past Chair for both the current term and the following 1 year term; or
(iii.b) the Executive Director may convert the Past Chair seat into an additional member at large position to be filled in accordance with section 7 (b). The seat will remain a member at large position until such time as an Incumbent Chair becomes Past Chair consistent with section 7(e)(i).

d. All elections shall be conducted by the Executive Director, and shall be certified by the Chair and the Chair-Elect in office at the time of the election.
e. At each year’s regularly scheduled election, the following positions shall be filled:

i. A Chair-Elect shall be elected to a one-year term. Upon being installed in September, the previous year’s Chair-Elect shall begin a one-year term as the Chair, and the previous year’s Chair shall begin a one-year term as the Past-Chair expect as described in section 7 (c).
ii. One of the two At-Large positions shall be elected to two-year terms, with the other At-Large position being elected in the following year.

f. At each annual election, either the Higher Education position or the PostSecondary Careers position shall be elected to a two-year term, with the other of these two positions being elected in the following year.
g. For the election of members of the Executive Committee, Governing Members shall vote as follows:

i. For the Chair-elect and At-Large positions (and for the Chair and PastChair positions, should there be the need to fill a vacancy), the K-12 Lead from each Governing Member may cast a single vote for each vacant position;
ii. For the Higher Education positions, the Higher Education Leads from each Governing Member may cast a single vote; and
iii. For the Post-Secondary Careers position, each Governing Member may cast two votes: one cast by the K-12 Lead, and one cast by the Higher Education Lead.

h. Balloting shall be open for five (5) business days.
i. Executive Committee positions are not term-limited. Executive Committee members may serve consecutive terms.
j. For elections to all Executive Committee positions, a tie between two or more candidates shall be resolved in the following manner.

i. The Executive Director will prepare a runoff ballot that includes only those candidates whose election, by virtue of the tie(s), is unresolved.
ii. Governing Members will cast votes for the number of unresolved positions, in accordance with the voting procedures described in Paragraphs f and g, immediately above.
iii. If the tie(s) is unresolvable after the runoff, the Executive Committee shall cast the tie-breaking vote(s), consistent with its decision-making procedures.

E. Executive Director and Staff

1. Executive Director

The Executive Director, an employee of the Fiscal Agent, directs the staff of Smarter Balanced, and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of Smarter Balanced and for the implementation of policies and procedures established by the Governing Members and the Executive Committee, in. His or her responsibilities include:

a. Serve as an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee;
b. Provide strategic leadership to the Executive Committee, Governing Members and Affiliate Members;
c. Coordinate the performance of the Fiscal Agent in providing necessary services to Governing Members and Customers;
d. Annually submit a proposed budget for the following year for approval by the Governing Board;
e. Serve as spokesperson for Smarter Balanced;
f. Propose agendas for the Executive Committee meetings;
g. Propose agendas for the Governing Board meetings;
h. Chair meetings of the Technical Advisory Committee and the Performance and Practices Committee;
i. Establish and maintain documentation of Smarter Balanced policies and procedures;
j. Supervise the performance of Smarter Balanced staff;
k. Perform any other such duties as assigned by the Executive Committee.

i. The Executive Director will receive a formal evaluation by the Executive Committee annually.

2. Other Staff

In conjunction with requirements of the Fiscal Agent, the Executive Director shall maintain an organization chart of staff and reporting relationships. The Executive Director is authorized to hire and dismiss staff, consistent with and subject to personnel requirements of the Fiscal Agent.

F. Standing Advisory Committees

Smarter Balanced will be advised by four standing advisory panels, which shall be advisory to the Executive Committee and Smarter Balanced staff.

1. Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)

Smarter Balanced will maintain a TAC whose members include national measurement and assessment policy and content experts who will contribute their knowledge and expertise regarding validation, design, item writing and scoring, psychometrics, accessibility for English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities, standard setting, instructional strategies and other technical and best practices matters.

TAC members are appointed by the Executive Committee, and are compensated for their work at a rate as recommended by the Executive Committee. The TAC shall be convened to meet regularly throughout the year, both in-person and virtually. The structure of the TAC shall be determined by the Executive Committee, and may include the establishment of subcommittees to focus on distinct areas of technical advice/expertise.

TAC meetings are not public meetings, but are open to Executive Committee members, K-12 Leads and Higher Education Leads to attend in person, and are remotely available to Member representatives, which are encouraged to involve their own technical advisors in reviewing the work of continuing assessment development being conducted by Smarter Balanced.

2. Additional Advisory Committees

Other advisory non-standing committees may be established by the Executive Committee, for the purpose of providing ongoing advice and guidance to Smarter Balanced on topics and issues that may have significant operational and/or policy implications. The length of service and membership of advisory committees will be established by the Executive Committee, with the consent of the Governing Board.

Change Log

Updates to Governing Board Procedures since December 18, 2017*

Section	Page	Change	Revision Date
(I) Purpose	1	Removal of references to UCLA and CRESST and replace with “Fiscal Agent” (on Page 1 and throughout the document)	12/8/17
(II) Smarter Balanced System	2	Remove “online simulation”	12/18/17
(III) Membership	4	Added ED authority to expend resources to support prospective member’s progress toward implementation	12/18/17
(III) Membership	4-5	Changes to Section B (Conditions of Membership) to reflect current practices; and remove specific affiliate member language.	12/18/17
(IV) Organizational Structure	6	Changes to language regarding governing board approval: the Strategic Plan, fiscal reviews to confirm compliance, petitions from a non-member entity to become an affiliate or customer, and hiring or dismissal of key Smarter Balanced staff.	12/18/17
(IV) Organizational Structure	6	Removal of language, “Decisions of the Governing Board shall be binding on all Members.”	12/18/17
(IV) Organizational Structure	9-13	Fewer Executive Committee members consistent with the current number of governing members; clarification of roles and responsibilities of the Executive Committee and governing members.	12/18/17
(IV) Organizational Structure	15-16	Removal of finance committee and performance audit committee	12/18/17
(IV) Organizational Structure	12	Adds steps to transition process if Chair of Executive Committee leaves before term is completed.	05/01/18
(IV) Organizational Structure	12	Amends steps to transition process if the incumbent Chair of Executive Committee leaves before term is completed.	05/05/22

* The Governing Board Procedures, originally adopted July 1, 2010, has been amended 12 times since its
adoption:

March 2, 2011
August 8, 2011
November 22, 2011
July 5, 2012
September 8, 2012
March 15, 2013
September 19, 2013
August 26, 2014
January 30, 2015
December 18, 2017
May 1, 2018
May 5, 2022