SGC Minutes, Resolutions and Notices: How to Write Them

A School Governance Council (SGC) leaves three papers behind every meeting that decides something: a notice of meeting, minutes with an attendance sheet, and a resolution. DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022 fixes who writes each one and when. The Secretary issues the notice “at least a week prior to the said meeting”, keeps the minutes, and gives every member a legible copy “within two weeks after the conduct of meeting”. A recommendation needs “two-thirds (2/3) consensus of all SGC members”, and the decision “shall be in writing, signed by the SGC members and posted on the transparency board” (Parts V.E and V.M).

Three texts bear on every paper, and they do not weigh the same. The order is the rule: it decides whether the council met and decided validly. DepEd’s SGC Functionality Assessment Tool and the User Guide for the 2026 roll-out, both enclosures of Memorandum DM-OUHRODI-2026-3750 of September 22, 2026, decide which papers a division validator counts. DepEd’s sample formats show one layout for each paper, and each “may be modified and contextualized in accordance with the preferences of the SGCs”.

The rules below are those in force on November 13, 2026. They apply to the council of every public school, elementary or secondary. The assessment now open is for public elementary schools, whose online form closes on March 31, 2027. How a council is formed and run is in School Governance Council (SGC): Complete DepEd Guide.

Key findings

• The Secretary issues the notice a week ahead, and the Co-Chairpersons sign it. “Notice of meetings for both regular and special meetings shall be issued by the Secretary to all SGC members at least a week prior to the said meeting”, and each Co-Chairperson is to “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC” (DO 026, s. 2022, Parts V.M and V.E). DepEd’s sample notice has no line for the day it was issued.
• Minutes follow the order’s ten-step procedure and reach every member within two weeks. The Secretary calls the attendance, “determines availability of quorum”, keeps the minutes and provides “all council members legible copies of the minutes of the meeting within two weeks” (Part V.M; Part V.E, item 3).
• The order and the tool count the quorum differently. The order requires “50% + 1 of the total SGC membership” (Part V.M). The tool’s sub-indicator FI3C counts “the total SGC voting membership” and asks for minutes “specifying required quorum”. Minutes that state both counts meet both.
• A resolution needs two-thirds of all members, in writing. A recommendation takes “two-thirds (2/3) consensus of all SGC members”, and the decision “shall be in writing” (DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M). The 2026 User Guide counts a resolution only when it is “duly approved and signed by the voting members and the School Head using wet signatures” (Vol. 2, p. 9). DepEd’s sample resolution prints “UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED”; a resolution states the vote as it was.
• The semi-annual report goes through the School Head; the quarterly reports are published. The council submits a “semi-annual accomplishment report including an action plan, through and with the approval of the School Head, to Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) and LGUs”, and the Secretary publishes quarterly reports “on the school’s Transparency Board and SRC” (Part V, Specific Functions, item 5; Part V.E, item 3).
• Most of the assessment’s score rests on these papers. Twelve minimum MOVs carry a point. Five of them turn on a resolution, four on minutes of a meeting, and one each on a notice of meeting, a letter to the School Head and a report (DM-OUHRODI-2026-3750, Encl. No. 2).
• The Secretary keeps the papers in the school, and the public may ask for them. They are “stored, maintained, and secured within the school premises by the incumbent SGC Secretary”, have digital copies, and are released “upon submission of a written request, indicating the purpose”, except “highly confidential information” (Part V.M, Storage of Documents).

Which papers an SGC writes, and which text governs each

The order names some of the council’s papers and leaves others to practice. The tool names the documents that prove each indicator, which it calls means of verification (MOVs). As of November 13, 2026, DepEd’s folder of sample formats holds thirteen: the twelve in the table and the sections below, and a certificate of participation.

The User Guide tells schools and validators how to treat the samples: “the sample format of the MOVs may be modified and contextualized in accordance with the preferences of the SGCs. It is provided solely as a reference to ensure that all significant elements aligned with the Functionality indicators are duly captured and not overlooked, without affecting the validation process of the MOVs” (Vol. 1, p. 5). Each of the twelve ends with the same note under the words “DO NOT PRINT THIS PART”. Delete that part before printing. The samples are at tinyurl.com/SGCMOVTemp.

The figure sets nine of the papers out as pages, part by part, in the order of DepEd’s samples. For each part it gives the sample’s own heading, what to write there, and the rule behind it. A part the sample lacks is marked as added.

Figure

Nine papers, part by part

Each page follows DepEd’s sample format from the top: the sample’s own heading, what to write under it, and the rule that part answers to.

Write the page

NoticeMinutesResolutionAction planQuarterly reportDocumentationM&E reportConcept noteTransmittal

Notice of meeting11 parts

Tells every member of the council when and where it will meet and what it will take up, a week or more ahead.

Who prepares and signs

The sample is signed by both Co-Chairpersons on its “FROM” line, and names the Secretary only as the person to ask. The order agrees on the signatures: each Co-Chairperson shall “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC”. It adds who sends the notice: the Secretary issues it. The sample has no line for the School Head.

When

At least a week before the meeting, regular or special: the notice is “issued by the Secretary to all SGC members at least a week prior to the said meeting”.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M, Meetings; Part V.E, Secretary, item f

Asked for as an MOV in

2 folders of the 44, 1 of them counted

1. Republika ng Pilipinas Department of Education

   [REGION] [DIVISION] [SCHOOL] [ADDRESS] S/Y__-__

   Set the notice on the school’s letterhead, with the school year, and put the school’s address in the footer of every page: the sample’s second page still carries a Central Office address there. Wherever a page names the council, the name is “School Governance Council”: “School Governing Council” is the first error the User Guide lists.

   “The correct name School Governance Council (SGC) is consistently used in documents, resolutions, minutes, and reports.”

2. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL NOTICE OF MEETING

   Keep both lines, and give the council’s full name, the school’s included, here or in the agenda line. The order’s examples are “School Governance Council of Jose Rizal Elementary School” and “Jose Rizal Elementary School-School Governance Council”.

   “the SGC shall carry a name which shall include the name of the school”

3. TO:

   SGC MEMBERS

   The notice goes to all members, voting and non-voting. A list of their names under this line shows that none was left out.

   “issue notice of meetings to all members of the SGC at least a week before the scheduled time”

4. FROM:

   [NAME AND SIGNATURE OF CO-CHAIRPERSON] SGC Co-Chairperson [Region] [ Division] [School Name] [NAME AND SIGNATURE OF CO-CHAIRPERSON] SGC Co-Chairperson [Region] [Division] [School Name]

   Both Co-Chairpersons sign with their full names, and each line says which one: Elected Co-Chairperson, Designated Co-Chairperson. The School Head is neither, and is never the council’s “Chairman”.

   “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC”

5. SUBJECT:

   [INSERT SUBJECT]

   Say which meeting it is: the first, second, third or fourth regular meeting of the school year, or a special meeting and its reason. The tool counts notices of regular meetings, so the word “regular” belongs on the page when it is one.

   “At the minimum, SGC meetings shall be held quarterly except for special meetings due to urgency.”

6. DATE & TIME:

   [INSERT DATE]

   The day, the date and the hour of the meeting, at least a week after the day the notice is issued. Pick an hour the learner representative can keep.

   “scheduled at a time convenient for everyone, especially for the student representative”

7. VENUE:

   [INSERT VENUE/MODE]

   The room in the school, or the platform and its link when the meeting is online: the order allows “virtual or in-person meetings”. A special meeting outside the school premises or on a weekend needs the Schools Division Superintendent’s written approval before it is held; say so here, and keep the approval with the notice.

   “Special meetings can be held outside the school premises or during the weekends provided that the SGC secures prior written approval from the SDS.”

8. INTRODUCTION:

   [Insert brief description of the purpose of the meeting]

   One or two sentences on why the council is meeting. For a special meeting, say which Co-Chairperson called it and that the School Head was consulted.

   “any of the Co-Chairpersons, in consultation with the School Head, can call special meetings as the need arises”

9. AGENDA:

   The SGC of [SCHOOL NAME] invites its members for a meeting to discuss the following: Agenda #1 Agenda #2 Agenda #3 Agendan #4

   List the items the Co-Chairpersons prepared and the Secretary finalized, each named by its matter (the SIP, the AIP, a program, a concern) and never by a learner’s name. The minutes will take up these items in this order.

   “finalize agenda of meetings as prepared by the Co-Chairpersons”

10. For inquiries, please contact

    [SECRETARY NAME] at (##) ###-#### or email at ________________.

    The Secretary’s name, with a number or an email address of the school rather than a personal one: the notice will be kept in a shared folder. The Secretary is the contact because that officer issues the notice and files the council’s papers.

    “prepare and file all communications and documents of the SGC”

11. Date issued, and how each member received itAdded: not in the sample

    The sample has no date of issue, so nothing on it shows that the notice went out a week ahead. Add the date the Secretary issued it and, at the foot or on the back, each member’s name, how the notice reached them (by hand, group chat or email) and when, with a signature where it was handed over or a screenshot where it was sent online.

    “Notice of meetings for both regular and special meetings shall be issued by the Secretary to all SGC members at least a week prior to the said meeting.”

DepEd’s sample format: NOTICE OF MEETING ([SGC] NOM template.docx)

Minutes of a meeting12 parts

Records what one meeting of the council took up and agreed, who was there, and that there was a quorum.

Who prepares and signs

The sample has the Secretary prepare the minutes and the Elected and the Designated Co-Chairperson approve them; the members present sign the attendance sheet. The order has the Secretary “keep the minutes and all other records of the SGC”, and the council itself approves them at its next regular meeting, whose third step is “Reading and approval of minutes”.

When

Within two weeks after the meeting: the Secretary shall “provide all council members legible copies of the minutes of the meeting within two weeks after the conduct of meeting”.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.E, Secretary, item h; Part V.M, Minimum Procedure of Regular Meetings, item 10

Asked for as an MOV in

13 folders of the 44, 4 of them counted

1. Republic of the Philippines Department of Education

   [REGION] [DIVISION] [SCHOOL] [ADDRESS] S/Y__-__

   The school’s letterhead, with the school year of the meeting. Check the header and the footer of every page, the attendance sheet’s too: the council is the “School Governance Council”, never the “School Governing Council”.

   “The correct name School Governance Council (SGC) is consistently used in documents, resolutions, minutes, and reports.”

2. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE SGC MEETING

   Date & Time Venue

   Under the title, the date, the hour the Elected Co-Chairperson called the meeting to order, and the room or the platform. Say which regular meeting of the school year it was, or that it was a special meeting; the date is the day the council met, never another.

   “The Elected Co-Chairperson calls the meeting into order”

3. A. ATTENDANCE

   (See the attached separate Attendance Sheet with attendees’ signature)

   Keep the line: it ties the typed lists below to the sheet the members signed. That sheet is scanned into the same PDF as the minutes.

   “record the attendance of council members during meetings”

4. NAME; POSITION; ORGANIZATION (SGC and Representing Organization)

   Present Absent

   Two lists that together name the whole council: the members present, then the members absent, each with the position in the council (Elected Co-Chairperson, Designated Co-Chairperson, Secretary, voting member, non-voting member) and the organization represented. List the School Head, a resource person or a learner member’s adviser apart, as a guest: none of them is a member, and the School Head is never the council’s “Chairman”.

   “The Secretary calls for the attendance of members and determines availability of quorum”

5. B. QUORUM

   [Indicate percentage of present attendees and state if quorum is established]

   State the count, not only a percentage: how many voting members the council has, how many are present, and that a quorum is reached. Where the council has non-voting members, give the same two numbers for the whole membership: the order counts “the total SGC membership”, the tool’s FI3C “the total SGC voting membership”. The order does not say how a fraction is treated; rounded up, half plus one of seven (4.5) is five. “No quorum specified” is one of the User Guide’s errors.

   “In order to conduct meetings, there should be a quorum of 50% + 1 of the total SGC membership.”

6. C. DISCUSSION PROPER

   [Insert Brief Introduction]

   Record the order’s opening steps before the agenda, a line for each: the call to order, the attendance and the quorum, the reading and approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, the issues left unfinished at that meeting, and the reading and approval of the agenda.

   “Deliberation of agenda and unfinished issues arising from the previous meeting”

7. AGENDA/TOPIC; DISCUSSION; AGREEMENTS/RESOLUTION (if any)

   [Agenda 1] [Discussion Point1] [Discussion Point 2] [Discussion Point 3] [Agreement/Resolution] [Agreement/Resolution] [Agreement/Resolution]

   One row for each item of the agenda, in the notice’s order, then a row for other matters. In the third column, write what was agreed and who will act and, for a resolution, its number and the vote. Give school data in totals: no learner’s name, grades, health details or case record.

   “It shall not disclose confidential data such as learner records and other personal information pursuant to the data privacy act and other related issuances”

8. D. CLOSING:

   The meeting was adjourned at __________.

   Before the hour of adjournment, record the date set for the next meeting: the order’s ninth step holds both.

   “Setting of schedules for the next meeting and adjournment”

9. Prepared by:

   [insert full name & signature, SGC Secretary]

   The Secretary’s full name and signature, and the date the minutes were finished: every member is owed a legible copy within two weeks of the meeting. Minutes that name no preparer fail the User Guide’s line “The preparer/author is clearly indicated”.

   “provide all council members legible copies of the minutes of the meeting within two weeks after the conduct of meeting”

10. Approved by:

    [insert full name & signature, SGC Elected Co-Chairperson] [insert full name & signature, SGC Designated Co-Chairperson]

    Both Co-Chairpersons sign, under the order’s titles. The council itself approves the minutes at its next regular meeting, and that meeting’s minutes should say so. An electronic signature may be accepted on minutes; ink leaves no question.

    “All required signatories must sign the document. Electronic signatures may be accepted for all documents except resolutions.”

11. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL MEETING ATTENDANCE SHEET

    Date & Time Venue (Handwritten)

    A separate page with the same date, time and venue as the minutes, filled in by hand at the meeting. Scan it into the same PDF as the minutes: “No signed attendance sheet attached” is one of the User Guide’s errors.

    “Complete minutes and signed attendance.”

12. NAME; POSITION; ORGANIZATION (SGC and Representing Organization); SIGNATURE

    Each member present fills in and signs a line of their own; no one signs for another. The names are those listed as present in the minutes, and their number is the one in the quorum line. For a virtual meeting no DepEd text says what replaces the sheet: the guide says electronic signatures “may be accepted” on documents other than resolutions, so ask the division’s SGC focal person what it takes.

    “Contains complete documentation (signatures, quorum, attendance, photos, resolutions, etc.).”

DepEd’s sample format: MINUTES OF THE SGC MEETING ([SGC] Minutes of the Meeting.docx)

Resolution11 parts

Puts a decision or a recommendation of the council in writing, with the vote and the signatures that make it the council’s.

Who prepares and signs

The sample has the Secretary prepare it and, under “Attested by”, each voting member with the organization represented, the Elected and the Designated Co-Chairperson, and the School Principal. The order asks that a decision be “signed by the SGC members”; the 2026 User Guide counts a resolution only when it is signed “by the voting members and the School Head using wet signatures”.

When

The order sets no time for writing it. The decision “shall be in writing, signed by the SGC members and posted on the transparency board”, and the Secretary sees that the organizations and stakeholders have a copy “at least a week after the approval”. Have it signed on the day it is adopted, while the voting members are in the room.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M, Decisions

Asked for as an MOV in

19 folders of the 44, 5 of them counted

1. Republic of the Philippines Department of Education SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL

   [REGION] [DIVISION] [SCHOOL] [ADDRESS] S/Y__-__

   This is the one sample whose letterhead carries the council’s name. Keep it exactly, “School Governance Council”, over the region, the division, the school, its address and the school year.

   “The correct name School Governance Council (SGC) is consistently used in documents, resolutions, minutes, and reports.”

2. RESOLUTION NO.__ SERIES OF ________

   Number the council’s resolutions in one sequence, with the year as the series, so that the minutes, a transmittal letter and the label of an uploaded file can all name the same paper. No DepEd text sets how to number them: keep one way, and never use a number twice.

3. A RESOLUTION ON

   [State the Subject]

   One line that says what the council decided or recommends, and to whom. The tool asks for resolutions on named subjects, such as the involvement of various sectors or access to information: word the subject so that a reader can match the paper to the indicator it is filed under.

   “The MOV directly supports the specific indicator being assessed.”

4. WHEREAS,

   [State the Subject]

   The sample prints nine; use as many as the matter needs. Give in order the provision of DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022 the council acts under, the need or the data behind the decision, and the meeting that took it up, with its date and its quorum. A resolution is posted, so data go in as totals and no learner is named.

   “It shall not disclose confidential data such as learner records and other personal information pursuant to the data privacy act and other related issuances”

5. RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED THAT

   [State details]

   State the decision or the recommendation in a sentence a stranger could act on: what, for whom, by when. The council recommends and the School Head acts on it; a resolution does not direct the school’s staff, enter a contract or settle a transaction for the school.

   “All recommendations and decisions of the SGC shall conform to existing laws and policies and regulations of DepEd.”

6. RESOLVED FURTHER THAT

   [State details]

   Use it for what follows from the decision: who carries it out, and who is furnished a copy. The council does not carry out its own resolutions: name the committee, association or organization that has the mandate.

   “The implementation of the decision shall be referred to the implementing committee/association/organization that has the mandate and authority to execute the resolution.”

7. WE HEREBY CERTIFY TO THE CORRECTNESS OF THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION.

   Keep the line. Those who sign under it certify that the text above is what the council adopted, so the text is final before anyone signs: no blank left to fill in, no page changed afterward.

   “The decision shall be in writing, signed by the SGC members and posted on the transparency board.”

8. UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED;

   this [day] of [month], [year] at [name of school]

   Keep “UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED” only when every voting member voted in favor; otherwise state the vote as it was, how many in favor of how many voting members. The order asks for two-thirds of all members, not of those present: six of nine voting members, whether nine or six attend. The date is the day the council adopted it, never another; a signature added later carries its own date.

   “All recommendations of the SGC shall be made by two-thirds (2/3) consensus of all SGC members and shall be binding on all council members and on the school organizations and committees they represent.”

9. Prepared by:

   [Full name & signature, SGC Secretary]

   The Secretary’s full name and signature, in ink. After the approval the Secretary sees to the two things the order asks: the resolution is posted on the transparency or bulletin board, and the organizations and stakeholders concerned have a copy. Note on the file copy when it was posted and to whom copies went.

   “The Secretary shall ensure that the different internal and external organizations and stakeholders are provided with a copy of the SGC resolution at least a week after the approval.”

10. Attested by:

    [Full name & Signature of the following]: [Voting Member, SGC and Rep Organization] [SGC Elected Co-Chairperson] [SGC Designated Co-Chairperson]

    A line for every voting member, with full name and the organization represented: the sample’s twelve places, its two Co-Chairpersons’ lines and the Secretary’s above make fifteen, the most voting members the order allows. Each signs by hand, in ink, and the tool’s FI3A asks for a resolution “signed by all SGC voting members”: count the signatures against the official list. A typed name or a pasted image of a signature is an electronic signature, which the User Guide does not accept on a resolution.

    “Resolutions must be duly approved and signed by the voting members and the School Head using wet signatures.”

11. [School Principal]

    The School Head signs too, by hand, under the title School Head or School Principal: never “Chairman”, and never as a member, which the head is not. The order asks for no signature from the head on a council’s resolution; the User Guide does, and lists “Resolutions not signed by voting members and School Head” among the errors.

    “The School Head is correctly designated.”

DepEd’s sample format: RESOLUTION NO.__ ([SGC] Resolution Template.docx)

Action or advocacy plan6 parts

Sets out what the council will do in a school year: the concern, the activity, the expected output, the time and who is involved.

Who prepares and signs

The sample has the Secretary prepare the plan and the Elected and the Designated Co-Chairperson approve it, with no line for the School Head. The order sends the council’s semi-annual accomplishment report, “including an action plan”, “through and with the approval of the School Head”: on the plan that goes with that report, add the School Head’s approval.

When

The order sets no time for an action plan by itself. One is part of each semi-annual accomplishment report, so the council writes or updates its plan at least twice a school year.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V, Specific Functions, item 5

Asked for as an MOV in

5 folders of the 44, 1 of them counted

1. Republic of the Philippines Department of Education

   [REGION] [DIVISION] [SCHOOL] [ADDRESS] S/Y__-__

   The school’s letterhead. Whatever the layout of the page, the council’s name on it is “School Governance Council”.

   “The correct name School Governance Council (SGC) is consistently used in documents, resolutions, minutes, and reports.”

2. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL ACTION PLAN

   S/Y__-__

   Give the council’s full name, with the school’s, and the school year the plan covers. The same form serves an advocacy plan: change the title to say so. A plan filed for an indicator says in its title what that indicator asks for; FI11A asks for an “Action Plan on promoting access to information”.

   “the SGC shall carry a name which shall include the name of the school”

3. AREAS OF CONCERN; PRIORITIZED NEEDS; OBJECTIVE; ACTIVITIES; EXPECTED OUTPUTS; TIME FRAME; RESOURCES: Persons Involved; Materials

   One row for each activity, with a concern and a need taken from the School Improvement Plan or from what stakeholders raised, an output that can be shown later (minutes, a resolution, a report) and a month or a quarter. Under Persons Involved, name the committee, association or organization that will carry the activity out: the council plans and coordinates, and does not manage the school. Where an activity needs money, say which school fund or partner is asked; the council keeps no fund of its own, and no learner is named in a row.

   “It shall not directly manage the school because it is the responsibility of the School Head”

4. Prepared by:

   [insert full name & signature, SGC Secretary]

   The Secretary’s full name and signature, with the date: the User Guide looks on a document for who prepared it.

   “The preparer/author is clearly indicated.”

5. Approved by:

   insert full name & signature, SGC Elected Co-Chairperson] [insert full name & signature, SGC Designated Co-Chairperson]

   Both Co-Chairpersons sign, under the order’s titles, after the council has agreed the plan at a meeting; the minutes of that meeting should name it.

   “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC”

6. School Head’s approval, on the plan sent with the semi-annual reportAdded: not in the sample

   The sample has no line for the School Head, and a plan kept in the council’s file needs none. The plan that goes with the semi-annual accomplishment report reaches the Schools Division Superintendent and the LGUs “through and with the approval of the School Head”: on that copy, add a line for the head’s approval, with full name, signature and date, under the title School Head or School Principal and never “Chairman”.

   “submit SGC semi-annual accomplishment report including an action plan, through and with the approval of the School Head, to Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) and LGUs and integrate it in the SRC”

DepEd’s sample format: ACTION PLAN ([SGC] Action Plan/Advocacy Plan Template.docx)

Quarterly progress report6 parts

Tells the school’s stakeholders what the council did in a quarter, activity by activity, on the Transparency Board and in the School Report Card.

Who prepares and signs

The sample has the Secretary prepare the report and the Elected and the Designated Co-Chairperson approve it, with no line for the School Head. The order makes the report the Secretary’s by name and asks no signature of the head on it; the semi-annual accomplishment report, for which the quarterly reports serve as references, goes “through and with the approval of the School Head”.

When

Every quarter: the Secretary shall “prepare quarterly reports of the activities of the SGC to the school stakeholders and publish them on the school’s Transparency Board and SRC”. The order names no day in the quarter.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.E, Secretary, items d and e

Asked for as an MOV in

None. The tool’s lists do not name it; DepEd’s To-Do Calendar lists it under FI2.

1. Republika ng Pilipinas Department of Education

   [REGION] [DIVISION] [SCHOOL] [ADDRESS] S/Y__-__

   The school’s letterhead, with the school year, and the school’s address in the footer of every page: the sample’s second page still carries a Central Office address there. The report is posted, so the whole school reads the council’s name on it: “School Governance Council”, never “School Governing Council”.

   “The correct name School Governance Council (SGC) is consistently used in documents, resolutions, minutes, and reports.”

2. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT

   First Quarter

   Give the council’s full name, the quarter and the school year: the sample prints “First Quarter”, so change it each quarter and add the dates it covers. This is the report the order has published, so write it for parents and partners, with no learner’s name or record in it.

   “lead the preparation of quarterly reports of SGC activities for publication in the school’s Transparency Board and SRC”

3. Program/ Activity; Objectives; Accomplishment; % of Accomplishment; Accomplishment Status (Accomplished, Ongoing, Pending); Date Accomplished

   One row for each activity the action plan set for the quarter, in the plan’s words, and a row for anything done that was not planned. Under Accomplishment, say what the council itself did (convened, approved, led or co-led), not what the school or the PTA did. Use the sample’s three statuses, give a date only for what is finished, and say what a percentage is a share of.

   “The document clearly shows that the SGC convened, approved, led, or co-led the activity.”

4. Prepared by:

   [insert full name & signature, SGC Secretary]

   The Secretary’s full name and signature, with the date. Preparing this report is the Secretary’s duty in the order, and “The document does not specify who prepared the report” is one of the User Guide’s errors.

   “prepare quarterly reports of the activities of the SGC to the school stakeholders and publish them on the school’s Transparency Board and SRC”

5. Approved by:

   [insert full name & signature, SGC Elected Co-Chairperson] [insert full name & signature, SGC Designated Co-Chairperson]

   Both Co-Chairpersons sign, under the order’s titles, before the report is posted. An electronic signature may be accepted on a report.

   “All required signatories must sign the document. Electronic signatures may be accepted for all documents except resolutions.”

6. School Head’s approval, on the semi-annual accomplishment reportAdded: not in the sample

   A quarterly report needs no more than the sample’s three signatures. Twice a year the council draws on its quarterly reports for the semi-annual accomplishment report, which goes with an action plan to the Schools Division Superintendent and the LGUs and into the School Report Card. On that report, add a line for the School Head’s approval (as School Head or School Principal, never “Chairman”), attach the action plan, and send it under a transmittal letter.

   “submit SGC semi-annual accomplishment report including an action plan, through and with the approval of the School Head, to Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) and LGUs and integrate it in the SRC”

DepEd’s sample format: QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT ([SGC] Quarterly Progress Report.docx)

Documentation of an activity9 parts

Records one program, forum or activity the council organized or took part in: what was done, when and where, who took part and what came of it, with photos.

Who prepares and signs

The sample has the Secretary prepare it and the Elected and the Designated Co-Chairperson approve it. The order names no signatory for a report of an activity; it has the Secretary “prepare and file all communications and documents of the SGC” and the Co-Chairpersons sign the council’s documents.

When

The order sets no time for it. Write it soon after the activity, while the names, the numbers and the photos are at hand: the quarter’s progress report draws on it.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.E, Secretary, items c and d

Asked for as an MOV in

FI10, minimum (counted, with minutes) and additional. The format can also carry the reports of FI9 (counted) and FI4B.

1. Republika ng Pilipinas Department of Education

   [REGION] [DIVISION] [SCHOOL] [ADDRESS] S/Y__-__

   The school’s letterhead, with the school year of the activity. The council’s name on every page is “School Governance Council”.

   “The correct name School Governance Council (SGC) is consistently used in documents, resolutions, minutes, and reports.”

2. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL DOCUMENTATION

   [INSERT PROJECT TITLE]

   The council’s full name, then the name of the program, forum or activity as the plan and the minutes call it. Where a folder of the tool asks for a report by another name, say so in the title: FI9 asks for an “SGC Report on the issues / concerns raised during school activities / events”.

   “The MOV directly supports the specific indicator being assessed.”

3. OVERVIEW:

   [Insert project overview, including the date, venue, attendees, & leading organization]

   In one paragraph: what was done, when and where, who took part, and who led. If the council led or co-led it, say so in those words; if another body led, say what the council did. An activity of the PTA or the learner government does not become the council’s by being written up on this form.

   “The document clearly shows that the SGC convened, approved, led, or co-led the activity.”

4. OBJECTIVE/S:

   The project aims to: Obj1 Obj2 Obj3 Obj4

   Copy the objectives from the concept note or the action plan; do not write new ones after the fact. The sample prints four places: two that were really set are better than four filled in.

5. ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED:

   [Insert description of the activities conducted with photo documentation] [INSERT PHOTO DOCUMENTATION/S] [Activity, Location, Persons Involved]

   Describe each activity in the order it happened, then place the photos, each with the caption the sample asks for: the activity, the place and the persons involved. Choose photos that show the council at work. Where learners appear, use group shots and do not caption them by name.

   “Photos or supporting documents are attached.”

6. CURRENT STATUS:

   [Insert description of the status quo with or without photo documentation]

   Where things stand on the day of writing: finished, still running, or waiting, and on whom. Date the statement.

7. ACCOMPLISHMENTS/ISSUES/ CONCERNS:

   [Insert description of accomplishments/Issues/ Concerns with photo documentation] [INSERT PHOTO DOCUMENTATION/S] [Short Description]

   Give results in numbers where there are any, then the issues and concerns stakeholders raised, and what was decided on each or where it was referred. Report concerns by subject and in totals: no learner is named, and no one’s grades, health or case record appears.

   “It shall not disclose confidential data such as learner records and other personal information pursuant to the data privacy act and other related issuances”

8. Prepared by:

   [insert full name & signature, SGC Secretary]

   The Secretary’s full name and signature, with the date. “The document does not specify who prepared the report” is one of the User Guide’s errors.

   “The preparer/author is clearly indicated.”

9. Approved by:

   insert full name & signature, SGC Elected Co-Chairperson] [insert full name & signature, SGC Designated Co-Chairperson]

   Both Co-Chairpersons sign, under the order’s titles. An electronic signature may be accepted on a report; the School Head, if named on the page, is School Head or School Principal, never “Chairman”.

   “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC”

DepEd’s sample format: DOCUMENTATION ([SGC] Documentation/Report Template.docx)

Monitoring and evaluation report6 parts

Sets what a program or activity was meant to achieve beside what monitoring found, with the issues raised and the council’s recommendations.

Who prepares and signs

The sample has the Secretary prepare it and the Elected and the Designated Co-Chairperson approve it, side by side. The order names no signatory for it. What the council finds reaches the School Planning Team and the project teams as feedback and recommendations, and the council acts “through the School Head”.

When

The order sets no time for it. The sample is filled in by quarter (“Quarter ____”), so it can be written with the quarterly progress report, after the monitoring it records.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V, Specific Functions, item 2

Asked for as an MOV in

FI6B, minimum and additional; neither is counted.

1. Republic of the Philippines Department of Education

   [REGION] [DIVISION] [SCHOOL] [ADDRESS] S/Y__-__

   The school’s letterhead, with the school year. The council’s name on the page is “School Governance Council”.

   “The correct name School Governance Council (SGC) is consistently used in documents, resolutions, minutes, and reports.”

2. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL MONITORING AND EVALUATION REPORT

   Quarter ____

   The council’s full name, the quarter and the school year. When the report covers one program, name it under the title: FI6B asks for a report on a “stakeholder-initiated program and/or activity”, such as Brigada Eskwela or Gulayan sa Paaralan.

   “The MOV directly supports the specific indicator being assessed.”

3. Program/ Activity; Objectives/Target; Date of Monitoring; Accomplishment; % of Accomplishment; Accomplishment Status (Complete, Partial, Ongoing, Pending); Issues/ Concerns; Recommendations/ Action Points

   One row for each program or activity monitored: the objective or target from its concept note or the action plan, the date the council’s members looked, and what they found beside the target, in one of the sample’s four statuses. In the last two columns, write what stakeholders raised and what the council recommends, and to whom: the School Head, the School Planning Team or the project team carries a recommendation out.

   “provide recommendations on improving efficiency and quality of the school services”

4. Who monitored, where, and the attachmentsAdded: not in the sample

   The sample’s table has no place for who did the monitoring, where, or the proof of it, and the User Guide asks of a report who participated and whether photos or supporting documents are attached. Add a line under the table naming the members who monitored and the place, and attach photos or the papers the findings rest on, such as a tally or a checklist. No learner’s name or record goes into an attachment.

   “Photos or supporting documents are attached.”

5. Prepared by:

   [insert full name & signature, SGC Secretary]

   The Secretary’s full name and signature, with the date. “The document does not specify who prepared the report” is one of the User Guide’s errors.

   “The preparer/author is clearly indicated.”

6. Approved by:

   [insert full name & signature, SGC Elected Co-Chairperson] [insert full name & signature, SGC Designated Co-Chairperson]

   Both Co-Chairpersons sign, under the order’s titles, once the council has taken up the findings. The School Head, if named on the page, is School Head or School Principal, never “Chairman”.

   “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC”

DepEd’s sample format: MONITORING AND EVALUATION REPORT ([SGC] Monitoring and Evaluation.docx)

Concept note or project brief11 parts

Proposes one program or activity before it starts: why, what, by whom, when, how success will show, and what it needs.

Who prepares and signs

The sample has the Secretary prepare it and the Elected and the Designated Co-Chairperson approve it. The council proposes: it “shall always coordinate and act through the School Head”, so the note goes to the School Head, who is “authorized to formalize agreements with partners”.

When

The order sets no time for it. Write it before the activity begins, early enough for the council to take it up at a meeting and for the School Head to act on it.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M, Limitations of SGC Authority, item 3

Asked for as an MOV in

FI6A, minimum (counted, with minutes) and additional.

1. Republic of the Philippines Department of Education

   [REGION] [DIVISION] [SCHOOL] [ADDRESS] S/Y__-__

   The school’s letterhead, with the school year. The council’s name on the page is “School Governance Council”.

   “The correct name School Governance Council (SGC) is consistently used in documents, resolutions, minutes, and reports.”

2. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL PROJECT CONCEPT NOTE

   The council’s full name, with the school’s, over the title. The tool calls this paper a “Concept note / Project brief, or similar document”: any of those names serves. For FI6A it is merged into one PDF with the minutes of the meeting with stakeholders that discussed the program.

   “the SGC shall carry a name which shall include the name of the school”

3. PROJECT TITLE; PROJECT SUPERVISOR; ORGANIZATION; START DATE; END DATE

   The title is the one the plan, the minutes and the later reports will use. As supervisor and organization, name the person and the committee, association or organization that will run the project: the council coordinates and does not implement, and the School Head is not written in as its “Chairman”. Give the dates the activity is planned to start and to end.

   “The implementation of the decision shall be referred to the implementing committee/association/organization that has the mandate and authority to execute the resolution.”

4. BACKGROUND:

   [Insert exhaustive background stating the purpose of the project/activity]

   Say what need the project answers and where the need was found: the School Improvement Plan, school data, or what stakeholders raised at a meeting, with its date. Use totals and percentages; no learner is named, and no learner’s record is quoted.

   “It shall not disclose confidential data such as learner records and other personal information pursuant to the data privacy act and other related issuances”

5. OBJECTIVE/S:

   The project aims to: Obj1 Obj2 Obj3

   Two or three objectives, each something that can be seen or counted by the end date. The monitoring and evaluation report will be written against these lines.

6. MAIN ACTIVITIES:

   The main activities to be conducted for this project are: MA1 Specific activity MA2 Specific activity MA3 Specific activity

   The main activities in the order they will happen and, under each, the specific steps and who takes them. Show the council’s part and the stakeholders’: FI6A asks whether the council “has been involved in the development of stakeholder-initiated programs and activities”.

   “The document clearly shows that the SGC convened, approved, led, or co-led the activity.”

7. EXPECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

   The project aims to accomplish the following: EA1 EA2 EA3

   What will exist when the project is done, one line for each objective: how many reached, what was built, repaired or produced.

8. INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT:

   The following scenarios indicate achievement of the objectives: IA1 IA2 IA3

   For each objective, the evidence that will show it was met and where it will be found: attendance sheets, a count, photos, a report. These lines become the targets of the monitoring and evaluation report.

9. BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS: ITEM; QUANTITY; UNIT PRICE; TOTAL; GRAND TOTAL

   List what the project needs, with quantities and prices, and say for each item where it is to come from: the school’s funds, a partner’s support, volunteers’ work. The council keeps no fund of its own and signs no contract; a partner who offers support is referred to the School Head, who formalizes the agreement.

   “Budget for meetings and other SGC activities shall be charged to the school operating budget or other local funds such as school MOOE or Canteen Funds.”

10. Prepared by:

    [insert full name & signature, SGC Secretary]

    The Secretary’s full name and signature, with the date: the User Guide looks on a document for who prepared it.

    “The preparer/author is clearly indicated.”

11. Approved by:

    [insert full name & signature, SGC Elected Co-Chairperson] [insert full name & signature, SGC Designated Co-Chairperson]

    Both Co-Chairpersons sign, under the order’s titles. Their approval is the council’s endorsement of the proposal, not leave to start: the School Head decides whether and how the school takes it up.

    “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC”

DepEd’s sample format: PROJECT CONCEPT NOTE ([SGC] Concept Note/Project Brief Template.docx)

Transmittal letter10 parts

Sends a paper of the council to the head of an office, says what the paper is, and leaves a dated record that it was sent.

Who prepares and signs

The sample is signed by the sender on its “FROM” line and has no “Prepared by”. For a letter of the council the senders are the Co-Chairpersons, who “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC” and “discuss with the School Head the direction of the SGC”; the Secretary prepares and files it. A paper for an office outside the school goes through the School Head.

When

The order sets no time for it. Date it the day it is sent, on or after the date of the paper it sends: a letter to the School Head on the council’s direction follows the meeting that set that direction.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.E, Designated and Elected Co-Chairpersons, items d and i

Asked for as an MOV in

FI5A, minimum (counted). FI7’s additional MOV asks for proof of endorsement and transmittal.

1. Republic of the Philippines Department of Education

   [REGION] [DIVISION] [SCHOOL] [ADDRESS] S/Y__-__

   The school’s letterhead, with the school year. The council’s name on the page is “School Governance Council”.

   “The correct name School Governance Council (SGC) is consistently used in documents, resolutions, minutes, and reports.”

2. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL TRANSMITTAL

   The council’s full name, with the school’s, over the title, so that the letter is plainly the council’s and not the school’s or the PTA’s. FI5A asks for a “communication / transmittal letter to the School Head reflecting the direction of the SGC”: this form, addressed to the School Head, is that paper.

   “the SGC shall carry a name which shall include the name of the school”

3. TO :

   [NAME OF RECIPIENT OFFICE HEAD] [POSITION] [OFFICE]

   The head of the receiving office, by name, position and office. In the school that is the School Head, addressed as School Head or School Principal. A letter for the Schools Division Superintendent, an LGU or the Local School Board is addressed to the head of that office and routed through the School Head, named on a line under this one.

   “It shall always coordinate and act through the School Head in the conduct of its affairs and shall not act on its own in any transactions involving the school”

4. FROM :

   [NAME AND SIGNATURE OF SENDER OFFICE HEAD] [POSITION] [OFFICE]

   The sample’s “SENDER OFFICE HEAD” is, for the council, its two Co-Chairpersons: both names and signatures, with the titles Elected Co-Chairperson and Designated Co-Chairperson and the council’s full name as the office. The School Head does not sign here as head of the council, and is never its “Chairman”.

   “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC”

5. SUBJECT :

   [INSERT SUBJECT]

   Name the paper sent and what is asked of the reader: information, action, approval or endorsement. Give a resolution by its number, series and subject.

6. DATE :

   [INSERT DATE]

   The day the letter is sent. It is not earlier than the date of the paper it sends, and it is never set back to meet a date already past.

7. INTRODUCTION:

   [Insert brief description of project/resolution/agreement facilitated through this transmittal letter]

   Two or three sentences: what the council discussed or decided, at which meeting, and why it writes now. In a letter to the School Head for FI5A, state the direction the council has set: what it recommends, and what it asks of the School Head.

   “discuss with the School Head the direction of the SGC”

8. TRANSMITTAL:

   In this regard, this is to submit the [Document/Attachment Name Submitted] (see [Annex A*]). [Insert Document/Attachment Description] *make sure to attach the referred document as ANNEX to this transmittal letter

   Name each paper sent, mark it as an annex and attach it, as the sample’s own note says. When the annex is the semi-annual accomplishment report with its action plan, the School Head’s approval is on the report before it leaves the school. Attach no learner’s record, and no list that names learners.

   “submit SGC semi-annual accomplishment report including an action plan, through and with the approval of the School Head, to Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) and LGUs and integrate it in the SRC”

9. Thank you!

   A closing line is enough: the sample’s signatures are on the “FROM” line at the top. A council that prefers its signatures at the foot may move them there.

   “the sample format of the MOVs may be modified and contextualized in accordance with the preferences of the SGCs”

10. Received by, and the dateAdded: not in the sample

    The sample has no place for the receiving office to acknowledge the letter. Have a second copy signed or stamped as received, with the receiver’s name and the date, or keep the sent message when it goes by email; file and upload that copy. It shows the paper reached its reader, and the tool’s FI7 asks for “Proof of endorsement of the SGC Resolution to the SDS and transmittal to the LSB”.

    “All SGC documents, decisions/resolutions, and minutes of meetings shall have digital copies and shall be accessible to the school administrator for easy consolidation and retrieval.”

DepEd’s sample format: TRANSMITTAL ([SGC] Transmittal Letter Template.docx)

DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022, Part V (Specific Functions), Part V.E, Part V.G and Part V.M; DepEd’s sample formats for SGC means of verification (2026); Memorandum DM-OUHRODI-2026-3750 (September 22, 2026), Enclosure No. 1, User Guide, Volume 2, pp. 5 to 9

Four things belong on every paper, whichever layout a council uses. A validator looks for each (User Guide, Vol. 2, pp. 6 to 9).

• The council’s name, with the school’s. “For identification purposes, the SGC shall carry a name which shall include the name of the school”, as in “School Governance Council of Jose Rizal Elementary School” (DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.G). The samples print “SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL” as a heading and the school in the letterhead. Writing the full name in the title meets the order on the face of the page. The older name “School Governing Council” makes a paper invalid.
• The order’s titles. Designated Co-Chairperson, Elected Co-Chairperson, Secretary, voting member, non-voting member. The School Head is “School Head” or “School Principal”, never “Chairman”.
• A date and a school year. The letterhead of each of the twelve samples has a blank for the school year. Validators count an activity “conducted June 17, 2022 onwards”, and Volume 1 tells schools that only MOVs “produced or created from School Year 2022–2023 onward” are valid (Vol. 2, p. 8; Vol. 1, p. 7).
• Who prepared it, and the signatures. The guide marks a paper invalid when it “does not specify who prepared the report” or has “Incomplete signatures”.

Each of these tests is explained, with its fix, in SGC MOV Validation: Why Documents Are Marked Invalid. The sections below add what is particular to each paper.

The samples carry the school’s letterhead, and the council’s papers are school papers in form: the council “does not have a separate and distinct juridical personality apart from the school” (Part V.G). No DepEd text applies the Department’s style manual to a council by name. Writing dates as DepEd does, month, day and year, keeps the papers consistent with the school’s own; the format is in DepEd Manual of Style (DMOS): A Guide for School Heads.

One meeting on paper: the days and the counts

The order counts three days from a meeting, and two numbers decide what the meeting could do. The notice goes out at least a week before. A resolution’s copies are given “at least a week after the approval”. Every member has the minutes within two weeks. The meeting needs a quorum, and a recommendation needs two-thirds.

Enter a meeting’s date and its numbers below. The calculator gives the three days, says whether there was a quorum and whether a recommendation was adopted, and writes a line that the minutes can carry.

Calculator

One meeting, on paper

Enter a meeting as it was. The calculator says whether there was a quorum, whether a recommendation was adopted, and which days the order counts from it.

Day of the meeting

Voting members

Voting members present

Votes in favor

Non-voting members

Non-voting members present

Present: 9 of 117 needed

In favor: 8 of 118 needed

For the minutes

Quorum: 9 of 11 voting members present (82%). At least 7 make 50% + 1. A quorum is established.

Vote: 8 of 11 voting members in favor. Two-thirds of all voting members is 8. The recommendation is adopted.

Copy the two lines

1. At least a week before the meeting

   The Secretary issues the notice of meeting to all SGC members on or before this day. The rule is the same for a regular and a special meeting.

   DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M, Meetings; Part V.E, Secretary, item f

2. The day of the meeting

   The Elected Co-Chairperson presides; the Secretary calls the attendance and determines whether there is a quorum.

   DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M, Minimum Procedure of Regular Meetings

3. A week after a resolution is approved

   The Secretary sees that the internal and external organizations and stakeholders have a copy of the resolution. The order’s words are “at least a week after the approval”.

   DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M, Decisions

4. Within two weeks after the meeting

   Every council member has a legible copy of the minutes on or before this day.

   DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.E, Secretary, item h; Part V.M, Minimum Procedure of Regular Meetings, item 10

The council meets at least once a quarter. A special meeting held outside the school premises or on a weekend needs the Schools Division Superintendent’s prior written approval.DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M, Meetings

DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022, Part V.E, Part V.F and Part V.M; SGC Functionality Assessment Tool, FI3C

The calculator rounds a fraction up and counts the two-thirds on the voting members. The order prints no table of counts and does not say how a fraction is treated or whether non-voting members count. The reasons for counting this way, and the counts for councils of seven to fifteen voting members, are in the SGC guide’s sections on quorum and decisions.

How to write the notice of an SGC meeting

What the order requires

The order sets no shorter notice for an urgent matter. A special meeting called on Monday for Thursday has not had the week.

What DepEd’s sample holds, and what it leaves out

The sample has the heading “NOTICE OF MEETING”, a “TO” line that reads “SGC MEMBERS”, a “FROM” block with a name-and-signature line for each of the two Co-Chairpersons, and lines for the subject, the date and time, and the venue or mode. An introduction gives the purpose of the meeting. The agenda follows the sentence “The SGC of [SCHOOL NAME] invites its members for a meeting to discuss the following”. The last line tells members to contact the Secretary for inquiries.

Two things the order requires do not show on the sample.

The day the notice was issued. The sample’s only date is the meeting’s. A notice that does not say when it went out cannot show that it went out a week ahead. Add a line for the date of issue.

The Secretary as issuer. The order has the Secretary issue the notice and the Co-Chairpersons sign it. The sample names the Secretary only as the person to contact. Add “Issued by” with the Secretary’s name and signature, under the Co-Chairpersons’ signatures.

A third addition is advice, not a rule in any DepEd text: keep a record of how and when the notice reached each member. A page with each member’s name, how the notice was sent (by hand, by text message, in the council’s group chat, by email) and the date received answers a member who says no notice came. It is also the only proof of the week for a notice sent by message. Keep it with the file copy of the notice.

Does the School Head sign the notice?

No. The order names the Secretary as issuer and the Co-Chairpersons as signatories. DepEd’s FAQ decks on the tool, issued in January and April 2024, answer the question in the same way: before a council is organized, the principal may call a meeting to orient stakeholders and sign its notice, and “Once the SGC is organized, the co-chairpersons must approve the Notice of Meeting, and may be ‘Noted by the principal’”. The order neither asks for nor forbids a “Noted” line for the School Head; DepEd’s FAQ allows one.

The School Head still has a part before the notice goes out. The council organizes its meetings to harmonize programs “through the School Head” (Specific Functions, item 4), and it “shall always coordinate and act through the School Head in the conduct of its affairs” (Part V.M, Limitations of SGC Authority, item 3). A Co-Chairperson consults the School Head before calling a special meeting, and a request to meet outside the school or on a weekend reaches the SDS through the School Head.

What a validator checks on a notice

The notice of meeting is the minimum MOV of FI1A, one of the twelve that carry a point: a “Notice of meeting (at least 1 of 4 Regular Meetings)”. The words point to a regular meeting of the council. A notice of an orientation that the principal called, or of a PTA assembly, is a different paper. The order lets the election “also serve as the first meeting of the council” (Part V.I), and DepEd’s SGC To-Do Calendar, released by Memorandum DM-OUHROD-2025-1774 on June 30, 2025, marks a “Notice of Meeting” for FI1 among the election activities of a school that is forming its council. No DepEd text says whether a validator counts that notice among the four. A notice of a later regular meeting leaves no question.

Beyond the four general tests, the validator sees whether the notice is signed and whether its date falls within the coverage period. The guide says electronic signatures “may be accepted for all documents except resolutions” (Vol. 2, p. 9), so a notice signed electronically and sent by email or chat can pass. The guide does not ask for proof of the week. The order requires the week itself, and the date of issue is how a council shows it kept it.

Mistakes that make a notice fail

Example: a notice of meeting

Example. The notice follows DepEd’s sample format, which may be modified. The lines marked “added” are not in the sample.

[School letterhead: Region, Division, School, Address, School Year 2026-2027]

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL OF [NAME OF SCHOOL]

NOTICE OF MEETING

Date issued (added): January 12, 2027

To: All SGC members, voting and non-voting

From: [Name and signature], SGC Elected Co-Chairperson; [Name and signature], SGC Designated Co-Chairperson

Subject: Regular meeting of the council for the [third] quarter

Date and time: January 20, 2027 (Wednesday), 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Venue: School library, [Name of School], in person

Introduction: The council will hear the School Planning Team’s report on the reading activities of the Annual Implementation Plan and decide whether to make a recommendation to the School Head on next year’s plan.

Agenda: The SGC of [Name of School] invites its members for a meeting to discuss the following:

1. Reading and approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of [date]
2. Report of the School Planning Team on reading in Grades 1 to 3
3. Proposed recommendation to the School Head on a priority of the Annual Implementation Plan for School Year 2027-2028
4. Other matters
5. Schedule of the next regular meeting

For inquiries, please contact [Name], SGC Secretary, at [number] or [email address].

Issued by (added): [Name and signature], SGC Secretary

Record of service (added, on a separate page): name of member, organization, how the notice was sent, date received, signature or reply

The notice was issued on Tuesday, January 12, for a meeting on Wednesday, January 20: eight days ahead. The last day to issue it was January 13.

How to write the minutes of an SGC meeting

What the order requires

The Secretary shall “keep the minutes and all other records of the SGC”, “record the attendance of council members during meetings”, and “provide all council members legible copies of the minutes of the meeting within two weeks after the conduct of meeting” (DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.E, item 3). The Co-Chairpersons “ascertain that in all meetings, a quorum is met” (Part V.E, items 1 and 2).

The order also says what a regular meeting consists of. Its “Minimum Procedure of Regular Meetings” has ten steps (Part V.M), and minutes that follow them are complete by the order’s own measure. The steps are listed in the SGC guide. The table turns each into a line of the minutes.

What DepEd’s sample holds, and what it leaves out

The sample is headed “MINUTES OF THE SGC MEETING”, with the date, time and venue. Part A, “ATTENDANCE”, refers to “the attached separate Attendance Sheet with attendees’ signature” and has two tables, Present and Absent, each with columns for name, position and organization, “SGC and Representing Organization”. A “QUORUM” line follows, with the prompt “Indicate percentage of present attendees and state if quorum is established”. The “DISCUSSION PROPER” is a table of three columns: “AGENDA/TOPIC”, “DISCUSSION” and “AGREEMENTS/RESOLUTION (if any)”. The “CLOSING” is one sentence: “The meeting was adjourned at”. The Secretary signs under “Prepared by”, and the Elected and the Designated Co-Chairperson under “Approved by”.

The attendance sheet is a separate page, marked “(Handwritten)”, with numbered rows for name, position, organization and signature.

The sample has no line for who presided, for the approval of the previous minutes, for the approval of the agenda, for other matters, or for the next meeting. All five are steps of the order’s procedure. A council that keeps the sample’s table can give each a row of its own.

The quorum line

The order’s rule is “In order to conduct meetings, there should be a quorum of 50% + 1 of the total SGC membership” (Part V.M). The tool’s sub-indicator FI3C asks whether “All regular meetings have been conducted with a quorum of 50%+1 of the total SGC voting membership”, proved by “Minutes of Meetings specifying required quorum”. The guide lists “No quorum specified” among the errors (Vol. 2, p. 8).

A quorum line that serves both gives four things: how many voting members the council has, how many are present, how many are needed, and the finding. Where the council has non-voting members, it gives the same count for the whole membership. The sample asks for a percentage, so state it as well:

Quorum: 9 of 11 voting members present (82%). At least 7 make 50% + 1. A quorum is established.

Without a quorum the council does not conduct the meeting. Record who came, state that there was no quorum, and issue a new notice a week ahead of the new date. Minutes of a discussion among too few members are not minutes of a council meeting.

Who is listed, and where

Members go in the Present or the Absent table, each with position and organization. Others in the room are listed apart, so that they are not counted toward the quorum: the adviser who “may” accompany a learner member, resource persons the council invited “who shall provide technical inputs and suggestions based on the agenda” (Part V.M), and the School Head when present. The School Head is outside the council and is not a member to be counted.

The sample’s attendance sheet is signed by hand. For a meeting held online, which the order allows (“virtual or in-person meetings”, Part V.M), no DepEd text says how attendance is signed. The guide accepts electronic signatures on every document except a resolution, so an attendance sheet signed electronically is within its words. Ask the SDO’s SGC focal person what the division accepts before relying on one.

Agreements, votes and what stays out

The third column of the sample’s table is where a decision first goes on paper. Write an agreement as a full sentence that names who will do what and by when. Where the council voted on a recommendation, record the count: how many voting members were in favor, how many were not, how many were absent, and the number that two-thirds requires. The resolution is then written as its own paper and is not replaced by the minutes.

Keep learners’ personal data out. The council “shall not disclose confidential data such as learner records and other personal information pursuant to the data privacy act and other related issuances” (Part V.M, Limitations of SGC Authority, item 7), and its minutes are open to the public on request. Record totals, such as the number of learners reading below grade level, and no names, grades, health details or case details.

Who approves the minutes, and when

Two approvals appear in the texts. In the sample, the two Co-Chairpersons sign under “Approved by”. In the order, the council itself approves: the third step of every regular meeting is “Reading and approval of minutes”. The order sets one deadline, two weeks, and it is for giving copies to members. A council that meets quarterly will therefore send out minutes about three months before the council approves them.

The order does not say how the two fit. A course that satisfies both: the Secretary prepares the minutes, the Co-Chairpersons sign them, copies go to all members within two weeks, and the next meeting’s minutes record that they were read and approved, with any correction. A correction belongs in the minutes of the meeting that made it. Retyping the earlier minutes under their old date produces a paper that was not made on the day it bears.

Minutes of a meeting with another body

Several indicators ask for minutes of a meeting with someone else: with the School Planning Team on the School Improvement Plan (SIP) or the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) (FI2A), with the Child Protection Committee (FI2C), or with stakeholders on programs (FI4A and FI6A). The paper is still the council’s: kept by its Secretary, on its heading, with its members’ attendance. The other body’s own minutes do not stand in for it. The planning team’s work is in DepEd School Improvement Plan (SIP): Steps, AIP and SRC.

What a validator checks on minutes

The guide’s test for a report applies to minutes: it “clearly explains” what was done, when and where, who participated and what decisions were made, with “Complete minutes and signed attendance”. “Minutes of meeting are incomplete”, “No quorum specified” and “No signed attendance sheet attached” are named errors (Vol. 2, p. 8). The order requires that attendance be recorded; the signed sheet is the guide’s requirement.

For the tool, one set of minutes of a regular meeting can prove three sub-indicators: FI3B (the agenda includes programs “supportive of the SIP, AIP, and other school priorities”), FI3C (the quorum) and FI3D (“Regular meetings have minutes”). The agenda must therefore appear in the minutes, and at least one item should tie to the SIP, the AIP or a school priority.

Mistakes that make minutes fail

Example: minutes of a regular meeting (excerpt)

Example. The excerpt shows the attendance, the quorum and one agenda item. It follows DepEd’s sample format, which may be modified.

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL OF [NAME OF SCHOOL]

MINUTES OF THE SGC MEETING

January 20, 2027, 2:05 p.m. to 3:50 p.m., School library

The Elected Co-Chairperson called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. The Secretary’s notice of this meeting was issued on January 12, 2027.

A. Attendance (see the attached attendance sheet with the attendees’ signatures)

Present, 9 voting members: [Name], SGC Elected Co-Chairperson, [PTA]; [Name], SGC Designated Co-Chairperson, [school]; [Name], SGC Secretary, [organization]; [Name], SGC voting member, [learner government]; [Name], SGC voting member, [faculty club]; and four other voting members, each with name and organization.

Absent, 2 voting members: [Name], SGC voting member, [organization]; [Name], SGC voting member, [organization].

Also present, not members: the adviser of the learner government; two members of the School Planning Team, as resource persons; the School Principal.

B. Quorum. The council has 11 voting members and no non-voting members. 9 of 11 voting members are present (82%). At least 7 make 50% + 1. A quorum is established.

C. Discussion proper

Agenda 3. Proposed recommendation to the School Head on a priority of the Annual Implementation Plan for School Year 2027-2028.

Discussion. The School Planning Team reported that [number] of the school’s [number] learners in Grades 1 to 3 read below grade level in the middle-of-year assessment. The PTA’s representative said that parents had asked for reading sessions after class. The learner government’s representative said that learners wanted more books to take home. The Designated Co-Chairperson said that the present plan funds reading materials for Grade 1 only.

Agreement. The Elected Co-Chairperson put to a vote the recommendation that reading remediation for Grades 1 to 3 be a priority improvement area in next year’s plan, and that the School Planning Team propose the activities, the schedule and the resources and report to the council every quarter. In favor: 8 of the 11 voting members. Not in favor: 1. Absent: 2. Two-thirds of all voting members is 8. The recommendation is adopted as Resolution No. 01, Series of 2027. The Secretary will have the resolution signed, post it on the transparency board, and give copies to the organizations represented in the council on January 27, 2027. The Co-Chairpersons will transmit it to the School Head.

Closing. The next regular meeting was set for [date]. The meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.

Prepared by: [Name and signature], SGC Secretary

Approved by: [Name and signature], SGC Elected Co-Chairperson; [Name and signature], SGC Designated Co-Chairperson

The Secretary gives every member a copy on or before February 3, 2027, two weeks after the meeting.

How to write an SGC resolution

When a decision needs a resolution

“All recommendations of the SGC shall be made by two-thirds (2/3) consensus of all SGC members and shall be binding on all council members and on the school organizations and committees they represent. The decision shall be in writing, signed by the SGC members and posted on the transparency board” (DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M, Decisions). The order calls the same paper a decision, a recommendation and a resolution: the Secretary gives stakeholders “a copy of the SGC resolution”, and the decision is referred to the body with “the mandate and authority to execute the resolution”.

Every recommendation of the council therefore needs a resolution: to the School Head, to the School Planning Team, or to the local government unit (LGU) through the Local School Board. The order does not say in words which lesser agreements may stay in the minutes. Approving the minutes, approving the agenda and setting the next meeting are steps of the meeting itself and recommend nothing; the minutes record them.

Three written decisions in the order have their own signatories. The resolution proclaiming the officers-elect is “signed by the School Head” (Part V.I). A decision to remove a member is “signed by the SGC officers” (Part V.L). Both are in the SGC guide. The third is the School Head’s action on a recommendation, which is the School Head’s paper and is taken up below.

The tool asks for resolutions on named subjects, and other DepEd orders ask for one as well.

DO 022 uses the word “Approval”. The council’s resolution releases no money: the club is funded from the sources that order lists (Part V.E), each under the rules that govern it.

The parts of DepEd’s sample resolution

The sample’s letterhead adds the line “SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL” under the Department’s name. The paper then runs in this order: “RESOLUTION NO.” and “SERIES OF”; the title, “A RESOLUTION ON” the subject; a set of “WHEREAS” clauses; “RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED THAT”; “RESOLVED FURTHER THAT”; the sentence “WE HEREBY CERTIFY TO THE CORRECTNESS OF THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION.”; the approval line; “Prepared by” the Secretary; and “Attested by”, with lines for twelve voting members, each with the organization represented, then the Elected Co-Chairperson, the Designated Co-Chairperson and the School Principal.

Number and series. The order prescribes no numbering. The sample’s two blanks follow the form of DepEd’s own issuances, a number within a calendar year. Whichever a council chooses, calendar year or school year, the same rule should hold for every resolution, and a register of numbers, dates and titles in the Secretary’s file keeps two resolutions from sharing a number. This is advice; no DepEd text states it.

The title. Name the action and the addressee: “A resolution recommending to the School Head that …”. A title that names the subject lets a validator match the resolution to its indicator: FI7, FI8, FI11A and FI12 each ask for a resolution on a named subject.

The whereas clauses. Each gives one ground: the function of the council that the resolution carries out, the facts the council heard and from whom, and the plan or policy the recommendation fits. The sample prints nine “WHEREAS” lines; three or four that say something are enough. Facts are totals, never a learner’s name.

The resolved clauses. The first states the recommendation and to whom it is made. Later clauses say who transmits it, who is asked to carry it out, and that it be posted. The council recommends and does not direct: it “shall not directly manage the school”, it acts “through the School Head”, and it “shall not enter into or be bound by any contractual transactions for and on behalf of the school” (Part V.M, Limitations of SGC Authority, items 1, 3 and 4). A clause that orders teachers, awards a contract or commits school funds is outside its authority, whatever the vote.

The approval line. The sample prints “UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED; this [day] of [month], [year] at [name of school]”. The order asks for two-thirds, and a council that reaches two-thirds without every vote has decided validly. Write what happened: “Approved” with the count when the vote was not unanimous, and “Unanimously approved” only when every voting member voted in favor. The date is the day of the meeting that adopted it.

The two-thirds

The fraction is of all the members, not of those present, and the members who count are those who vote. The SGC guide gives the reasons and the count for each size of council. A council of eleven voting members needs eight votes in favor, whether eleven attend or nine. A meeting with a bare quorum of seven can adopt nothing, since seven votes are fewer than eight. Check the attendance before putting a recommendation on the agenda.

Who signs, and how

Four texts speak, and each asks for more than the one before.

The order decides whether the council decided. The guide decides whether the paper is counted. A resolution that every voting member and the School Head sign in ink satisfies all four, and the reasoning is in SGC MOV Validation.

Three practical points follow.

Sign at the meeting. Print the resolution before the meeting ends, or bring it drafted with the vote left blank and fill in the count, and then have the members sign while they are in the room. The School Head signs the same day.

A member who was absent, or who voted against. No DepEd text says whether such a member signs. The order asks that a decision be “signed by the SGC members” and the tool for a resolution “signed by all SGC voting members”; neither limits the signatures to those who attended or voted in favor, and an adopted recommendation is “binding on all council members”. In DepEd’s sample the signatures stand under “WE HEREBY CERTIFY TO THE CORRECTNESS OF THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION” and “Attested by”, words that attest the text and record no vote; no rule says so. A member who was absent may sign afterward when three things hold: the approval line states the vote as it was taken at the meeting, the member has read the adopted text and the minutes, and the member writes the date of signing beside the signature. A signature added later is not a vote and never changes the count. No one signs for another, and an absent member never signs the attendance sheet. Where a member will not sign, ask the SDO’s SGC focal person before submitting that resolution for the assessment.

The School Head’s signature is not the School Head’s decision. The guide puts the School Head among the signatories, and the sample lists the School Principal last under “Attested by”. The order gives the School Head a separate act afterward: to approve, partly approve, modify or disapprove the recommendation and to explain (Part VI.A, item 1). No DepEd text says what the School Head’s signature on a resolution means. Under the sample’s heading it attests the paper; it does not approve what the paper recommends.

A resolution adopted in an online meeting still needs ink for the assessment. The paper travels to each voting member, or the members sign at the school.

After approval: posting, copies and the School Head’s action

1. Post it. The decision is “posted on the transparency board”, and the order repeats the duty under Storage of Documents: “The SGC shall post on the transparency or bulletin board the resolutions/decisions” (Part V.M).
2. Give copies. “The Secretary shall ensure that the different internal and external organizations and stakeholders are provided with a copy of the SGC resolution at least a week after the approval” (Part V.M). The words are the order’s, and DepEd’s “SGC at a Glance” infographic, Chapter 4, repeats them without change. Read as a deadline, they mean within a week; read literally, no sooner than a week. Copies given on the seventh day after approval meet both readings. A list of who received a copy, and when, shows it.
3. Transmit it to the School Head. The Co-Chairpersons “discuss with the School Head the direction of the SGC” (Part V.E), and the tool’s FI5A asks for a “Copy of the communication / transmittal letter to the School Head reflecting the direction of the SGC”. A resolution sent under a transmittal letter serves both.
4. The School Head acts and explains. The School Head explains “the reasons, potential risks, or effects of matters in case of disapproval, partial approval or modification of the recommendations”, and refers what is approved “to the appropriate committee/association/organization or office/person, as may be warranted, for its implementation or appropriate action” (Part VI.A, items 1 and 5). The order does not require that the action be in writing. A written action is the record to keep, and it is also one of FI5A’s additional MOVs: “Any document with citations on SGC’s recommendation released by the school management / School Head”.

What a validator checks on a resolution

The signatures come first: the guide names “Resolutions not signed by voting members and School Head” as a failure (Vol. 2, p. 9), and a validator can count the signatures against the official list of voting members. The validator also reads the council’s name, the titles in the signature block, the date of approval, and whether the subject fits the indicator whose folder holds the file.

Mistakes that make a resolution fail

Example: a resolution

Example. The resolution follows DepEd’s sample format, which may be modified. The council has eleven voting members; nine attended, and eight voted in favor.

[School letterhead: Region, Division, School, Address, School Year 2026-2027]

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL OF [NAME OF SCHOOL]

RESOLUTION NO. 01, SERIES OF 2027

A RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING TO THE SCHOOL HEAD THAT READING REMEDIATION FOR GRADES 1 TO 3 BE A PRIORITY IMPROVEMENT AREA IN THE ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2027-2028

WHEREAS, under DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022, the School Governance Council shall “participate actively in the formulation and implementation of the SIP and other DepEd programs, projects, and activities”;

WHEREAS, at the council’s regular meeting on January 20, 2027, the School Planning Team reported that [number] of the school’s [number] learners in Grades 1 to 3 read below grade level in the middle-of-year assessment;

WHEREAS, at the same meeting the representatives of the Parent-Teacher Association and of the learner government said that parents and learners had asked for reading sessions after class and for more books to take home;

WHEREAS, the School Improvement Plan for [years] names reading in the early grades among its priority improvement areas;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, THAT the School Governance Council of [Name of School] recommend to the School Head that reading remediation for learners in Grades 1 to 3 be made a priority improvement area in the Annual Implementation Plan for School Year 2027-2028;

RESOLVED FURTHER, THAT the council recommend that the School Planning Team propose the activities, the schedule and the resources for it, and report to the council on its progress every quarter;

RESOLVED FINALLY, THAT the Co-Chairpersons transmit this resolution to the School Head, and that the Secretary post it on the transparency board and give copies to the organizations represented in the council.

WE HEREBY CERTIFY TO THE CORRECTNESS OF THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION.

APPROVED this 20th day of January 2027 at [Name of School], with 8 of the council’s 11 voting members in favor, 1 not in favor and 2 absent. Two-thirds of all voting members is 8.

Prepared by: [Full name and signature], SGC Secretary

Attested by: [Full name and signature], voting member, SGC and [organization represented] (one line for each voting member; a member who was absent signs only after reading the adopted text and the minutes, and anyone who signs after January 20, 2027 writes the date of signing beside the signature)

[Full name and signature], SGC Elected Co-Chairperson

[Full name and signature], SGC Designated Co-Chairperson

[Full name and signature], School Principal

The resolution asks for no money, names no supplier and gives no instruction to a teacher. It recommends, and it names who will carry the recommendation forward.

The action plan, the quarterly report and the semi-annual report

What the order asks

The order names no month for either report and no form for either.

The action plan

DepEd’s sample is a table for one school year. Its columns are “AREAS OF CONCERN”, “PRIORITIZED NEEDS”, “OBJECTIVE”, “ACTIVITIES”, “EXPECTED OUTPUTS”, “TIME FRAME” and “RESOURCES”, the last divided into “Persons Involved” and “Materials”. The Secretary prepares it, and the two Co-Chairpersons approve it.

The sample has no line for the School Head. For the council’s own file, and as an MOV, the order asks for none. When the plan leaves the school with the semi-annual report, the order does: the report and its plan go “through and with the approval of the School Head”. Add an “Approved” line for the School Head to the copy that is submitted, or send it under the School Head’s signed endorsement.

A council’s action plan lists the council’s own work: the meetings it will hold, the bodies it will meet, the forums it will organize, what it will monitor, what it will recommend. It is not a second School Improvement Plan, and its “Resources” column commits no school funds. The council’s costs are “charged to the school operating budget or other local funds” and follow “regular accounting and auditing rules and regulations” (Part V.M, Budget), which puts them in the School Head’s hands.

In the tool, the “SGC’s Action Plan” is an additional MOV for FI2A, FI3A and FI4A. One plan carries a point: the “SGC’s Action Plan on promoting access to information”, which with a resolution on the same subject is the minimum MOV of FI11A. A general action plan with no part on access to information does not fit that folder.

The quarterly report

DepEd’s sample, the “Quarterly Progress Report”, names the quarter and has six columns: “Program/ Activity”, “Objectives”, “Accomplishment”, “% of Accomplishment”, “Accomplishment Status (Accomplished, Ongoing, Pending)” and “Date Accomplished”. The Secretary prepares it, and the Co-Chairpersons approve it.

Write it from the quarter’s papers: the meetings held, with their dates; the resolutions adopted, by number and title; the School Head’s action on each; the activities the council organized or joined; and what is still pending. Then publish it. The order’s duty is publication, on the Transparency Board and in the SRC. A report that sits in the Secretary’s folder has not been published.

The board has its own rhythm in the rules on school funds: DepEd Order No. 008, s. 2019 has the school post “the sources, intended use and actual utilization of school funds in the Transparency Board that must be publicly accessible and must be updated every three (3) months” (Sec. VI.A, item 4). The council’s quarterly report can go up at the same time.

The tool’s MOV lists do not name the quarterly report. DepEd’s SGC To-Do Calendar lists the “SGC Quarterly Progress Report” beside the minutes of the meeting with the School Planning Team under FI2. The report is owed under the order whether or not an assessment counts it.

The semi-annual accomplishment report

As of November 13, 2026, DepEd’s sample formats include none for the semi-annual accomplishment report. The order’s words give its contents: what the council accomplished in the half-year, and an action plan. Two quarterly reports and the action plan, updated, make the report; the order itself says the quarterly reports are its references.

Its route is fixed. It goes “through and with the approval of the School Head”, to two addressees, the SDS and the LGUs, and it is integrated in the SRC. The council does not send it on its own: it “shall always coordinate and act through the School Head in the conduct of its affairs” (Limitations, item 3). A workable route: the Co-Chairpersons submit the report to the School Head under a transmittal letter, the School Head approves it, and the School Head’s office sends it on.

The order names no months. The SRC gives a guide. DepEd Order No. 44, s. 2015 says “At the minimum, the SRC shall be presented twice: during the mid-year (October) and year-end (March) general assemblies”. A semi-annual report finished before each presentation can be integrated in the SRC that is presented. Timing the report this way is advice; the order sets no date. The same order has the SRC signed by, among others, “the School Governing Council Chair”, its older name for the council’s head; under DO 026 the council has two Co-Chairpersons.

The papers of a program or activity

Four more papers come from the council’s work outside its meetings. The order names none of the first three, and the fourth only among the council’s “communications”. The tool asks for each, and DepEd gives a sample of each. In the first three samples the Secretary prepares the paper and the two Co-Chairpersons approve it; the transmittal letter is signed by its sender.

Concept note or project brief

The sample, the “Project Concept Note”, has a block for the project’s title, supervisor, organization, start date and end date, then six parts: “BACKGROUND”, “OBJECTIVE/S”, “MAIN ACTIVITIES”, “EXPECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS”, “INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT” and “BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS”, the last a table of item, quantity, unit price and total.

With the minutes of a meeting with stakeholders, a concept note is the minimum MOV of FI6A, on the council’s part in developing “stakeholder-initiated programs and activities”. The note should show the council’s hand in the design: who proposed the activity, which stakeholders will run it, and what the council will do.

The budget table needs care. The council has no fund of its own, signs no contract, and refers a willing partner “to the School Head who is authorized to formalize agreements with partners” (Part V.M, External Partnership). A concept note may estimate what an activity needs. It should say where the resources are expected to come from, and it commits nothing until the School Head acts. The rules on partners and donations are in School Governance Council, PTA and Partners: A Guide.

Documentation of an activity

The sample, headed “DOCUMENTATION”, has the project’s title and five parts: “OVERVIEW”, for “the date, venue, attendees, & leading organization”; “OBJECTIVE/S”; “ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED”, with photographs captioned by activity, location and persons involved; “CURRENT STATUS”; and “ACCOMPLISHMENTS/ISSUES/ CONCERNS”.

The guide’s test for a report applies in full: what was done, when and where, who participated, what decisions were made, with “Photos or supporting documents” attached, and proof that “the SGC spearheaded the activity” (Vol. 2, p. 8). The line for the leading organization in the overview is where the council’s part is stated. Documentation of a program is, with minutes, the minimum MOV of FI10, on forums the council itself organizes.

Two other reports have no sample of their own. FI9 asks for an “SGC Report on the issues / concerns raised during school activities / events”, and FI4B for “Any document reporting the discussion from the meeting attended”. The documentation format can carry either, with the issues and concerns written out under its last heading. Using it for them is a suggestion; the tool prescribes no form.

Photographs of learners are personal data. Use group pictures of the activity, and leave out any caption that ties a named learner to a grade, a health condition or a case.

Monitoring and evaluation report

The sample names the quarter and has eight columns: “Program/ Activity”, “Objectives/Target”, “Date of Monitoring”, “Accomplishment”, “% of Accomplishment”, “Accomplishment Status (Complete, Partial, Ongoing, Pending)”, “Issues/ Concerns” and “Recommendations/ Action Points”. It is the minimum MOV of FI6B: a “Report on the assessment / monitoring and evaluation of stakeholder-initiated program and/or activity”.

The council monitors as a feedback body. It reports what it saw and what stakeholders said, and it recommends. A recommendation that the council wants acted on goes into a resolution.

Transmittal letter

The sample has four lines, “TO”, “FROM”, “SUBJECT” and “DATE”, an introduction, and one sentence of transmittal: “In this regard, this is to submit the [Document/Attachment Name Submitted] (see [Annex A*])”. Its footnote says to attach the document as an annex. The sender signs on the “FROM” line.

Two uses matter.

To the School Head. The minimum MOV of FI5A is a “Copy of the communication / transmittal letter to the School Head reflecting the direction of the SGC”. The sub-indicator reads “The Co-Chairpersons have communicated the direction of the SGC to the School Head”, so the letter comes from both Co-Chairpersons. A letter that only says a document is enclosed reflects no direction. Say what the council decided and what it asks of the School Head, and attach the resolution. The sample has no place for the receiver to acknowledge the letter; a second copy marked received, with the name and the date, shows that it arrived. Keeping one is advice.

Toward the Local School Board. The council recommends programs “to the LGU through the Local School Board (LSB)” (Specific Functions, item 3), and it acts through the School Head. The tool shows the route in FI7’s additional MOV: “Proof of endorsement of the SGC Resolution to the SDS and transmittal to the LSB”. The council’s resolution goes to the School Head under a transmittal letter, the School Head endorses it to the SDS, and it is transmitted to the board. A Co-Chairperson does not write to the mayor directly: a paper for the board leaves the school through the School Head. The board and its budget calendar are in Local School Boards and the Special Education Fund.

The list of members, the organizational chart and the certificates

Official list of members. The sample is a table of full name, position and organization, with rows for the Elected Co-Chairperson, the Designated Co-Chairperson, the Secretary, twelve voting members and three non-voting members. The Secretary prepares it, and the Co-Chairpersons approve it. The three officers and twelve other voting members make fifteen, the order’s maximum. A council with fewer deletes the rows it does not fill; the voting members may not number fewer than seven (Part V.D). Where the list is submitted for FI1B as an “SGC Resolution on the Official List of Voting Members”, it is a resolution and is signed as one.

Organizational chart. The sample shows the School Principal, the Designated Co-Chairperson, the Elected Co-Chairperson, the Elected Secretary and the other council members, voting and non-voting, as the order’s own figure does (Part V.C). The School Principal stands beside the council, not at its head. FI1C accepts a “Draft / Operative Organizational Chart” as the minimum MOV and an “Approved / Adopted” one as the additional.

Certificate of membership. The sample certifies that a named person “is the [position] of the [Name of School School Governance Council] for the S/Y”, is dated, and is signed by the School Principal. FI1B’s minimum MOV is the “Membership / Induction Certificates” of the 7 to 15 voting members, one for each.

The election’s own papers. The call for the election is posted in public areas two weeks ahead, candidacies are filed in writing with the School Head, and “The resolution proclaiming the officers-elect, signed by the School Head, shall be submitted to the SDO” and posted (Part V.I). These are the School Head’s papers. The SGC guide covers the election.

Which indicators each paper serves

The tool has twelve indicators and nineteen sub-indicators, each with minimum and additional MOVs. A point is earned on the minimum MOV of each of the seven primary sub-indicators and of the five indicators that have none, and ten valid ones of the twelve make a council functional. The full wording is in SGC Functionality Assessment Tool: Indicators and MOVs. The table reads the lists from the paper’s side.

Source: DM-OUHRODI-2026-3750, Encl. No. 2. The 2024 tool for secondary schools lists the same documents.

One regular meeting, properly run, leaves papers for several indicators. Take a meeting to which the council invites the School Planning Team, hears its report on the AIP, and adopts a recommendation on the plan.

Four papers from one meeting thus answer five of the twelve scored MOVs, provided each is valid and fits its indicator. The guide neither allows nor forbids using one document for two indicators. Its test for every file is that it “directly supports the specific indicator being assessed” (Vol. 2, p. 9), so a paper placed in two folders must fit each. The folders and labels are in How to Submit the SGC Functionality Assessment Tool.

How SGC papers are kept, posted and released

Custody and digital copies

“The SGC documents, decisions/resolutions, and minutes of meetings shall be stored, maintained, and secured within the school premises by the incumbent SGC Secretary”, and all of them “shall have digital copies and shall be accessible to the school administrator for easy consolidation and retrieval” (DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M, Storage of Documents). The order does not define “school administrator”; the School Head, or a person the School Head assigns, is the natural reading.

Three things follow from those sentences. The papers stay in the school, not in the Secretary’s home. The Secretary keeps them, not the School Head’s office, though the school provides the place. And the School Head can reach the digital copies without asking for the cabinet key.

A workable file, as advice: one folder for each school year, with the notices, the minutes with their attendance sheets, the resolutions with the register, the reports, the letters sent and received, and the requests for documents, each in order of date; and a scanned copy of each signed paper, named by date and kind, in the school’s official account.

When the Secretary or the School Head changes

When the school’s leadership changes in the middle of a school year, the outgoing School Head is to “orient the Designated and Elected Co-Chairpersons about SGC updates and activities and properly turn-over all SGC documents” (Part VI.A, item 6). The order says nothing on a change of Secretary, which comes at least every three school years with the officers’ term. The safe course is the same: an inventory of the file, signed by the outgoing and the incoming Secretary, with a copy to the Co-Chairpersons.

What is posted

The order defines the transparency board as “a publicly accessible tool that can be seen in the school vicinity where information on the sources, intended use, and actual utilization of school funds, among others, shall be posted and updated regularly” (Part III, item 20). Minutes are not on the list of what is posted. They are given to members and released on request.

A request from the public

“SGC documents and minutes of meetings shall be made accessible to the public upon submission of a written request, indicating the purpose, addressed to the SGC Secretary who shall validate the request. Following the validation, the Secretary shall inform the school administrator to release the document to the requester. However, the SGC shall not release highly confidential information as provided by law and DepEd policies” (Part V.M, Storage of Documents).

The steps are four: a written request that states its purpose; the Secretary’s validation; the Secretary’s word to the school administrator; and release by the school. The order does not say what the Secretary validates. Its own words give two things to check: that the request is in writing with a purpose, and that the paper asked for holds nothing the council may not release. The act behind the limit is Republic Act No. 10173, the Data Privacy Act of 2012. Where a paper holds personal data, the school releases it with those parts covered. Keeping each request with a note of the action taken is advice, and it is the record that shows the rule was followed.

How long to keep them

The order sets no period. A council’s officers and voting members serve three school years (Part V.J), and the assessment counts papers back to School Year 2022-2023, so a council needs its file for years. Whether the council’s papers are public records of the school is not stated in any DepEd text. The council has no personality apart from the school, the papers are stored in the school, and the school releases them. The safer course is to treat them as school records and to destroy none outside the school’s own disposal process, which under Republic Act No. 9470 needs “the prior written authority” of the National Archives (Sec. 18). DepEd School Records: CAV, SF10, School Forms and FOI covers that process.

What this means for school heads

What a School Head may and may not do with the council’s papers

Three things a School Head does not do.

Write the council’s papers for it. The order gives the minutes, the notices, the communications and the reports to the Secretary, and the guide asks that each paper show who prepared it. The name under “Prepared by” should be the person who prepared it. A School Head can do much short of writing: give the council DepEd’s samples, a place to keep its file, the use of a computer and a printer, and the data it asks for. Meetings and other council activities are a proper charge on school funds (Part V.M, Budget).

Date a paper back. A notice, a set of minutes or a resolution carries the date on which it was made. A paper typed in 2027 and dated 2025 is a false document, and in the assessment the Co-Chairpersons, the Secretary and the School Head sign a Validity Form stating that the MOVs “are genuine”. A council that has not yet done something can still do it, and date the paper truthfully. Falsification of an official document is among the grave offenses in DepEd Administrative Offenses and Penalties in 2026.

Sign for a member. Each line in a signature block is for the person named on it. A member who cannot come to the school signs when the paper reaches them and writes the date of signing. A signature added after a meeting is not a vote and changes no count.

A routine for every quarter

The days below count from the meeting, as the calculator above does. Steps 1, 3 and 6 are advice on sequence, and so is posting at once in step 4.

1. Two to three weeks before. The Co-Chairpersons prepare the agenda in consultation with each other and the members, and the Secretary finalizes it. Give the council the SIP and AIP progress data it will need, in totals.
2. At least a week before. The Secretary issues the notice, signed by both Co-Chairpersons, to every member, and records how each received it.
3. The day of the meeting. The Secretary circulates the attendance sheet for signature and states the quorum. If a recommendation is adopted, the members and the School Head sign the resolution before they leave.
4. In the week after. The resolution goes on the transparency board at once and the Co-Chairpersons transmit it to the School Head; copies go to the organizations on the seventh day.
5. Within two weeks after. Every member has the minutes.
6. As soon as the School Head has decided. The action on the resolution goes to the council, with the reasons for any part not approved, and the approved part is referred to the body that will carry it out.
7. At the quarter’s end. The Secretary’s quarterly report goes on the Transparency Board and into the SRC.
8. Twice a year. The semi-annual accomplishment report and action plan come to the School Head for approval, and go to the SDS and the LGUs.

Teachers who serve as Secretary or Co-Chairperson

The Designated Co-Chairperson is a school representative, and the Secretary may be a teacher. DepEd Order No. 006, s. 2025 covers this case. Teachers who are members of the SGC “may be required to accomplish forms and reports related to their duties as members of these groups. However, as may be practicable, other members aside from teachers shall assume primary responsibility for these forms and reports”, and school heads “must ensure that under no circumstances shall teachers’ workload be adversely affected in the performance of duties in these groups” (item 5). A council that elects a parent or a community member as Secretary meets that preference; where a teacher holds the post, the School Head sees that the paperwork does not eat into teaching.

The standards this work serves

Helping a council put its work on paper is the practice of strand 5.4, communication, and strand 5.2, management of school organizations, of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH), adopted by DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020. Keeping and releasing its records is strand 2.1, records management. See PPSSH Domain 5 for the NASH: Building Connections and PPSSH Domain 2 for the NASH: Managing School Operations. A council whose papers are in order also gives the school what it needs to rate indicator 24 of the School-Based Management checklist, “The school has a functional School Governance Council (SGC)” (DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2024, Annex A), covered in DepEd Revised SBM: DO 007, s. 2024 and the Self-Assessment.

How the NASH may test this

The items below are original practice items, scored 3 (Relational), 2 (Multistructural), 1 (Unistructural) or 0 (Prestructural). An option that breaks a rule scores 0.

Question 1

Indicator 5.4.2, Communication. Career Stage 2, Situational, Moderate.

You are the school head of a public elementary school in a coastal town. On a Monday, the Elected Co-Chairperson of the School Governance Council tells you that the Local School Board will take up proposals from schools in ten days, and that the council must first adopt a recommendation. The Elected Co-Chairperson asks you to sign a notice and post it in the council’s group chat today, so that the members can meet on Thursday. The council’s Secretary can be reached today. What is the most appropriate action?

• A. Explain that the Secretary, not the school head, issues the council’s notices, and leave the date and the wording of the notice for the two co-chairpersons to settle between them.
• B. Propose next Monday for the meeting, and ask the Secretary to post in the group chat today a notice the co-chairpersons signed that gives the date and place and leaves the agenda for later.
• C. Sign the notice as school head and post it in the council’s group chat today, so that the members can meet on Thursday and the recommendation reaches the board on time.
• D. Agree to a special meeting next Monday, and have the Secretary issue today a notice signed by the co-chairpersons, with the agenda, to every member through the chat and on paper.

Answer and explanation: Question 1

Best answer: D. Points: A = 1, B = 2, C = 0, D = 3.

• A (1 point, Unistructural). It is right about who issues a notice. It leaves the Thursday meeting standing and gives up the consultation that a co-chairperson owes the school head before a special meeting is called.
• B (2 points, Multistructural). The date, the issuer and the signatories are right. A notice posted only in the chat, without the agenda, may not reach every member and leaves those it reaches unable to consult the organizations they represent before they vote.
• C (0 points, Prestructural). The school head does not sign the council’s notices, and a meeting on three days’ notice breaks the rule that notice goes out at least a week before a regular or a special meeting.
• D (3 points, Relational). It keeps the week, the issuer and the signatories, tells every member what will be decided, uses the chat to carry a signed notice, and still meets the board’s date.

Why. This aligns with Career Stage 2 expectations because indicator 5.4.2 asks a school head to communicate effectively in writing with stakeholders, through positive use of communication platforms, so that they can share information and work together. DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M requires that notice of regular and special meetings “be issued by the Secretary to all SGC members at least a week prior to the said meeting”, and Part V.E has the co-chairpersons sign notices and prepare the agenda. The option that posts a signed notice without the agenda keeps the week and leaves members unprepared to decide.

Indicator 5.4.2: Communicate effectively in speaking and in writing to teachers, learners, parents and other stakeholders, through positive use of communication platforms, to facilitate information sharing, collaboration and support.

Sources: DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022, Part V.E, items 1 to 3, and Part V.M (Meetings); DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020.

Question 2

Indicator 2.1.1, Records management. Career Stage 1, Conceptual, Moderate.

A School Governance Council’s Secretary keeps its minutes and resolutions in the school, with digital copies that the school head can retrieve. A parent who is not a member of the council asks for a copy of the minutes of its last meeting. Which statement best explains how the request should be handled?

• A. The minutes are open to the public, so the school head may release the digital copy on the parent’s written request once the learners’ personal data are taken out.
• B. The minutes are internal papers of the council, so copies may go to its members and to the division office but not to a parent who holds no seat in the council.
• C. The minutes are open on a written request stating its purpose, so the Secretary validates it and the school then releases them without highly confidential data.
• D. The minutes are in the Secretary’s keeping, so the parent takes the request to the Secretary, who may then hand over a copy of them from the council’s own file.

Answer and explanation: Question 2

Best answer: C. Points: A = 2, B = 0, C = 3, D = 1.

• A (2 points, Multistructural). It is right that the minutes are open, that the request is written and that personal data stay out. It skips the Secretary’s validation, which comes before the school releases anything.
• B (0 points, Prestructural). The council’s documents and minutes “shall be made accessible to the public” on a written request. Closing them to non-members is contrary to the order.
• C (3 points, Relational). It joins the four parts of the rule: a written request with a purpose, validation by the Secretary, release by the school, and the limit on confidential information.
• D (1 point, Unistructural). It has the custodian right. It leaves out the written request and its purpose, the Secretary’s validation, release by the school and the limit on confidential information.

Why. This aligns with Career Stage 1 expectations because indicator 2.1.1 asks for skill in managing school data and information, which includes knowing who keeps a record, who may see it and what must be withheld. DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M (Storage of Documents) makes the Secretary the custodian, gives the school administrator access to digital copies, opens the documents to the public on a written request that the Secretary validates, and bars the release of highly confidential information. Releasing the digital copy on the parent’s letter alone protects the learners’ data and bypasses the Secretary’s validation.

Indicator 2.1.1: Demonstrate skills in managing school data and information using technology, including ICT.

Sources: DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022, Part V.M (Storage of Documents; Limitations of SGC Authority, item 7); DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020.

Nothing in this guide reproduces or predicts examination content.

Frequently asked questions

Who signs the notice of an SGC meeting?

The two Co-Chairpersons. DO 026, s. 2022 has each of them “sign communications, notice of meetings, and other documents of the SGC” (Part V.E), and the Secretary issues the notice (Part V.M). The School Head is not a signatory; DepEd’s 2024 FAQ decks say the notice “may be ‘Noted by the principal’”.

How many days before an SGC meeting must the notice be sent?

At least a week, for a regular or a special meeting (DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M). The order gives no shorter period for urgent matters. A notice for a meeting on January 20 is issued on or before January 13.

Who prepares and who approves the minutes of an SGC meeting?

The Secretary keeps the minutes and gives every member a copy within two weeks (DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.E, item 3). In DepEd’s sample format the Secretary signs as preparer and the two Co-Chairpersons as approving. Under the order’s meeting procedure, the council reads and approves the minutes at its next regular meeting (Part V.M).

How many votes does an SGC resolution need?

Two-thirds of all members, not of those present: “All recommendations of the SGC shall be made by two-thirds (2/3) consensus of all SGC members” (DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M). The order does not say whether non-voting members count; only voting members cast votes (Part V.F), so count the voting members: a council of eleven needs eight votes in favor. Nor does the order say how a fraction is counted, so round up.

Can a parent or a resident ask for a copy of SGC minutes?

Yes. SGC documents and minutes “shall be made accessible to the public upon submission of a written request, indicating the purpose, addressed to the SGC Secretary who shall validate the request” (DO 026, s. 2022, Part V.M). The Secretary then tells the school administrator to release the document. Highly confidential information, such as learner records, is not released.

Sources

DepEd issuances on the council and the tool:

• DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022, Implementing Guidelines on the Establishment of School Governance Council, June 17, 2022: Part III, item 20; Part V (Specific Functions, items 3 to 5); Parts V.C to V.G, V.I, V.J and V.L; Part V.M (Meetings, Minimum Procedure of Regular Meetings, Decisions, Budget, Storage of Documents, External Partnership, Limitations of SGC Authority); Part VI.A.
• Memorandum DM-OUHRODI-2026-3750, Roll-Out of the School Governance Council (SGC) Functionality Assessment Tool for Public Elementary Schools, Office of the Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development and Infrastructure, September 22, 2026: Enclosure No. 1 (SGC Functionality Assessment Tool User Guide, Volume 1, pp. 5 and 7 to 19, and Volume 2, pp. 5 to 9) and Enclosure No. 2 (the tool).
• DepEd’s sample formats of the MOVs, at tinyurl.com/SGCMOVTemp, the link printed in the User Guide. As listed on November 13, 2026, the folder holds thirteen sample formats (notice of meeting; minutes of the SGC meeting with attendance sheet; resolution; action plan; quarterly progress report; documentation; monitoring and evaluation report; project concept note; transmittal; official list of members; organizational structure; certificate of membership; certificate of participation) and two generic forms, for minutes and for a notice of meeting.
• Validity Form, 2026, at tinyurl.com/SGCVF2026.
• Memorandum DM-OUHROD-2025-1774, Release of SGC Advocacy Material: To-Do Calendar, June 30, 2025, with the calendars for schools with no existing SGC and with an existing SGC.

DepEd’s explanatory materials, by the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development-School Effectiveness Division:

• SGC Functionality Assessment Tool FAQs, January 2024 and April 15, 2024: No. 13.
• “SGC at a Glance” infographics, Chapters 3 and 4.

Related DepEd issuances:

• DepEd Order No. 006, s. 2025, Guidelines on the Streamlining of School Forms and Reports Accomplished by Teachers, March 20, 2025: item 5.
• DepEd Order No. 008, s. 2019, Revised Implementing Guidelines on the Direct Release, Use, Monitoring and Reporting of MOOE Allocation of Schools, May 2, 2019: Sec. VI.A, item 4.
• DepEd Order No. 44, s. 2015, Guidelines on the Enhanced School Improvement Planning (SIP) Process and the School Report Card (SRC), September 29, 2015: the SRC’s signatories and its presentation.
• DepEd Order No. 022, s. 2025, Policy Guidelines on the Institutionalization of the School Sports Club in Public Schools, August 7, 2025: Parts V.D and V.E.
• DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2024, Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the Revised School-Based Management (SBM) System, May 16, 2024: Annex A, indicator 24.
• DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020, National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads, September 7, 2020: strands 2.1, 5.2 and 5.4.

Laws:

• Republic Act No. 10173, Data Privacy Act of 2012.
• Republic Act No. 9470, National Archives of the Philippines Act of 2007: Sec. 18.

School Governance Council series

• School Governance Council (SGC): Complete DepEd Guide
• SGC Functionality Assessment Tool: Indicators and MOVs
• How to Submit the SGC Functionality Assessment Tool
• SGC MOV Validation: Why Documents Are Marked Invalid
• SGC Minutes, Resolutions and Notices: How to Write Them (this post)

Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Sources: DepEd Order No. 026, s. 2022; Memorandum DM-OUHRODI-2026-3750, with its User Guide, tool and sample formats; Memorandum DM-OUHROD-2025-1774; DepEd Orders No. 006, s. 2025, No. 008, s. 2019, No. 44, s. 2015, No. 022, s. 2025, No. 007, s. 2024 and No. 024, s. 2020; Republic Acts No. 10173 and No. 9470.