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LSC Vacancies

To support our schools, it is essential to fill vacant Local School Council seats. Learn about how parents, students, community members and school-based staff members can get involved in their schools by applying for LSC vacancies.

Your Local School Council Needs Your Support

Local School Councils (LSCs) promote community involvement in CPS. LSC members play an essential role in decisions that impact their school community, including:

  • Approving the school-based academic plan
  • Approving the alignment of budgetary resources
  • Engaging in the annual evaluation of contract principals’ professional practices
  • Selecting or renewing contract principals

To perform these functions effectively, it is essential that LSCs remain as close to full membership as possible. Empty seats can halt or significantly delay the functions of the LSC, which is why we need the help of our community members, parents, and staff to fill open seats.

Apply to Become an LSC Member

Schools accept applicants for LSC vacancies year-round. The application period is always open. Learn how to apply below.

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    1. Check Your Eligibility

    Parents, community members, students, principals and school staff may all serve on LSCs. Criteria for eligibility depends on member type. To learn whether you are eligible to serve on an LSC, view our eligibility rules.

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    2. Find an Open Seat

    Use our LSC Members Map to check for open seats at your child's school or a school in your community. The map will display school boundaries to help you locate schools where you may be eligible to serve. You must live within a school’s attendance boundary to apply for LSC membership as a community member. You may apply for LSC membership as a parent at the school your child attends.

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    3. Complete the Nomination Packet

    Once you have identified a vacancy that you are eligible to fill, complete the nomination packet. The packet consists of the following:

    You will need two forms of identification to complete the nomination packet. Examples of acceptable forms of identification include:

    • Driver’s License
    • State of Illinois ID
    • Voter Registration Card
    • MediPlan/Medicaid Card
    • IDPA Card
    • Permanent Resident Card
    • Matrícula Consular
    • Student ID
    • Public Library Card
    • Other Governmental Agency I.D.
    • Current Lease
    • Current Utility Bill
    • Credit or Debit Card
    • Employment ID
    • Court Documents

    Please submit hard copies of the nomination packet to the principal at the school where you are applying and email copies of the nomination packet to the Office of Local School Council Relations at lscrelations@cps.edu. 

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    4. Attend an LSC Meeting

    To complete your application process, attend a meeting for the LSC that you are applying to join. Use our LSC Members Map to find the date and time of this LSC’s next meeting. Most LSC meetings are hosted at their home school, but some are held off-site. To confirm the location of an LSC meeting, contact the school’s principal or administrator. Meeting agendas and schedules are also posted in public and accessible places within the school. If you can’t locate a meeting date or location, contact the Office of Local School Council Relations at 773-553-1400.

    Every LSC meeting has a segment for public comment. During this segment, please publicly express your desire to join the LSC. Inform the chair or principal that you would like to be placed on the agenda of their next meeting to fill the vacancy that currently exists. A summary of your request will be noted in the official minutes of the meeting, which is an official written recording of what happens in LSC meetings. By this point, you should have all the paper requirements completed and ready for the principal to review.

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    5. Await the Vote Results

    At the following meeting, which you do not need to attend, the council will raise a motion to vote to fill vacancies. They will then vote on parent and community vacancies. If the majority of the serving council members vote "yes" for you to join, you are on the council and can vote immediately.

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