Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 14 > Chapter 8 - School Shared Decision-Making

• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• School community: shall mean a community comprised of the stakeholders responsible for providing and structuring a child's education; specifically, the board of education at the district level, certified and noncertified school employees, parents, community members and, as appropriate, students. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 801
• Shared decision-making: shall mean an inclusive, representative decision-making process in which members of the school community at the school and district levels participate as equals. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 801
• State Board: consists of 9 members who are citizens of this State andappointed as follows:

  (1) The Governor shall appoint, with Senate confirmation, 7 voting members. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 104

• Structured conversations and activities: shall mean ongoing opportunities for representatives of the entire school community, as defined herein, to collectively and collaboratively explore and become knowledgeable about the processes, systems and governance structures commonly associated with shared decision-making; to identify the skills, knowledge and attitudes which promote successful shared decision-making; to review the research related to the successes and shortcomings of shared decision-making in educational settings; and to determine the readiness and commitment of the various groups within the school community to proceed with shared decision-making as a means to achieve the goal of improved teaching and student learning and improved school safety and discipline. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 801
• Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302