School Board Policy Basics

Transcription

1 School Board Policy Basics Region One Child Nutrition Program Administrators Conference October 24, 2014 Kathy London Assistant Director, Policy Service Texas Association of School Boards This information is provided for educational purposes only to facilitate a general understanding of the law or other regulatory matter. This information is neither an exhaustive treatment on the subject nor is this intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney or other professional advisor. Consult with your attorney or professional advisor to apply these principles to specific fact situations. The information in this presentation may include the intellectual property of third parties Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. All rights reserved.

2 Board Policy Basics 1) What is TASB? a) The Texas Association of School Boards b) Voluntary, not-for-profit, statewide association (not a state agency) c) Provides advocacy, information, and training d) All school district boards in Texas are members 2) What does TASB Policy Service do? a) Maintains customized board policy manuals for i) All 1024 school districts ii) All 20 regional education service centers iii) 28 community colleges b) Maintains database of each district s manual and the server for all policy manuals online c) Tracks changes in law and sends updates for school district policy manuals about 3 times per year d) Provides policy advice to districts on a daily basis i) Each district has a policy consultant assigned to it in Policy Service; there are 10 policy consultants, each assigned to serve about 100 specific districts (not by region) ii) Each district has someone in the district assigned as the official contact with Policy Service (e.g., superintendent, superintendent s secretary, assistant superintendent) e) Offers model administrative procedures and forms f) Conducts in-district policy reviews upon request g) Conducts training for school administrators and board members (and others) 3) There are multiple layers of governance and management for every local school and school district a) Congress passes laws, implemented by federal regulations b) Federal agencies e.g., U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Federal Communications Commission develop regulations to implement federal law c) Texas Legislature passes laws, e.g., Education Code, Government Code, Tax Code, etc. d) Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner and the State Board of Education (SBOE), as well as commissioners of other state agencies (e.g., TDSHS, TDA) adopt rules, housed in the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), to implement state law e) Local school board adopts (LOCAL) policies to implement federal and state laws and rules 1

3 f) Superintendent develops district-level administrative procedures to implement all of the above g) Campus administration develops campus-level rules and procedures to implement all of the above 4) Local school board a) Usually 7 members b) Elected by the community c) Answerable to the voters d) Hires the superintendent e) Oversees the superintendent s management of the district f) Is responsible for the big picture, not the details 5) Policy manual structure a) 7 sections, with alphabetical outline b) The policy code letters never stand for anything; it is just an outline 6) What is a (LEGAL) policy? a) Recites or summarizes laws or rules from various higher sources, or official interpretations of laws, including attorney general opinions and court decisions, etc. b) Housed in the board policy manual for convenience c) NOT subject to board adoption; but if a law applies, it is the district s policy, too, simply because it is the law d) Cannot be changed by an individual district that might not like a particular law e) Need not be repeated in (LOCAL) policy 7) Public Policy (with a big P) is abstract and broad a) Reflects the community s/district s i) Beliefs ii) Philosophy iii) Values b) May be expressed i) Through the budget ii) In the curriculum iii) In staffing patterns iv) Through resolutions and official actions to commit support for various community efforts and initiatives c) Resolutions, the budget, compensation plans, and instructional materials are all adopted by the board, and those votes are recorded in board minutes (not in policy) and may be publicized on the district s website or elsewhere 8) (LOCAL) board policy (with a little p) is concrete and reflects governance-level decisions that: 2

4 a) Require/prohibit a specific action, e.g., The District shall not permit the use of District vehicles for nonschool purposes. CNB(LOCAL) b) Set standards/criteria, e.g., A student shall have met all credit and testing requirements for graduation in order to participate in the commencement ceremony. FMH(LOCAL) c) Authorize someone to act, e.g., The Superintendent shall have authority to make any single budgeted purchase under $25,000. CH(LOCAL) 9) (LOCAL) policy must be adopted by the board and is maintained in the board policy manual 10) What is a (LOCAL) board policy? a) A formal board statement that requires or authorizes action; spells out WHAT is supposed to happen b) Is necessary to: (1) Respond to a legal requirement (2) Reduce potential legal risk (3) Declare the district s choice among a variety of legal options (4) Authorize administrative action; establish administrative authority c) Should focus on governance issues, not management details or philosophy d) Is binding once adopted by the board; only the board can change a (LOCAL) policy e) Always read (LEGAL) and (LOCAL) together; (LOCAL) typically should not repeat from (LEGAL) f) Text is often based on recommendations or drafts from TASB Policy Service 11) Role of TASB Policy Service a) Researches policy issues applicable to school districts b) Coordinates with TASB Legal Services, state agencies, & other school attorneys to recommend generic (LOCAL) policy language c) Offers recommended text in a TASB Update d) Provides policy text upon request e) Customizes (LOCAL) policies for individual needs of each district 12) What are local administrative regulations? a) Administrative procedures and forms that spell out HOW things happen in a district b) Interchangeable terms = regulations, procedures, plans, handbooks, guidelines c) Details necessary to implement board policy d) Subject to board review, but NOT board adoption e) May be developed by i) Superintendent ii) Other administrative staff iii) Advisory committees, such as the SHAC 3

5 f) Exceptions and revisions approved by the superintendent g) Retains flexibility for the developers/users of these living documents h) Some plans/procedures addressing health topics i) Wellness plan ii) Food allergy management plan iii) Procedures for administering medication to students iv) Procedures for student groups to request approval for fundraising projects 13) Some of the things a board must adopt... a) Student Code of Conduct for the district [FO] b) Budget and tax rate [CE] c) Statements on certain topics as (LOCAL) policy, e.g., a bullying policy [FFI], a wellness policy [FFA] 14) Some of the things a board should not adopt... a) District student and employee handbooks b) Grading guidelines c) Wellness plan d) Other administrative procedures/plans/rules Wellness Policy FFA(LOCAL) 1) Wellness Policy required by federal and state law, beginning with the school year 2) Policy Service s role in development of the wellness policy a) Partnered with TDA, TEA, and TDSHS to develop appropriate policy language b) Published a template of suggested text c) Assisted individual districts in drafting policy d) Conducted training on development of wellness plan 3) Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 wellness policy section (204) is still waiting for the federal regulations a) Don t confuse this with the nutrition standards or Smart Snacks or any rules adopted already for other parts of the Act b) Proposed rules for wellness policy were published in February 2014 c) Final rules expected soon, but no one knows for sure when that will be d) Be cautious of proposed rules they will not be the final word or final requirements 4) Wellness policy change under federal rules a) We need to see the final rules before updating the policy language 4

6 b) There is no deadline established yet for districts to revise the Wellness Policy c) Remember lessons from Board Policy Basics; lots of details do not belong in board policy d) Resist the urge to reinvent the wheel e) Find out who manages the board policy manual within your district f) Ask that person or your superintendent to watch for material from Policy Service after the federal regs are final g) Call Policy Service if you really get worried 5) What can you do while we wait for the new federal regs? a) Contact the person in your district who is responsible for implementation of the wellness policy and plan b) Recommend that the School Health Advisory Council do a self-assessment of district s implementation of policy and plan 6) Develop materials for release to news media or publication on district s website about wellness in your district, including information on: a) Content of wellness policy b) Progress in implementing the policy and plan 7) Recent wrinkle for how we think about the wellness policy time and place restrictions on sale of competitive foods (Smart Snacks) a) New TDA standards are the same as the previous standards (from the nowrepealed Texas Public School Nutrition Policy) for when and where foods of minimal nutritional value could be sold b) New TDA rule, however, allows districts to adopt different standards but must put that decision in the wellness policy c) Policy Service has sample policy text for adopting different standards; no need to reinvent wheels for this d) No policy change is needed if a district will still use the TDA standards 8) Call TASB Policy Service before drafting or adopting revisions or policies a) Each district has a policy consultant assigned to it the person who answers the phone can put you through b) After board adoption of policy changes, be sure someone notifies us so we can send the official copies and put changes online c)