Governance and Policy ResourcesResearch, guidance and services for effective school board governance

The overall purposes of CSBA’s Professional Governance Standards

• Help increase the effectiveness of governing boards, and
• Raise parent, public and media awareness about the critical role of governing boards.

Why adopt and utilize?

Because local governance teams are critical to positive, sustained public school reform, and the Professional Governance Standards:

• Help keep governance teams focused on learning and achievement for all students.
• Promote dialogue about governance, which leads to a greater understanding among members of the governance team about roles and expectations.
• Help establish a common vocabulary about governance and serve as a framework for building or maintaining a district culture focused on effective governance. 
• Publicly affirm the board’s commitment to effective governance.
• Demonstrate the willingness of board members to be accountable to each other and to the public.
• Provide a tool for governance teams to evaluate their effectiveness.
• Help governance teams identify areas where continuing education would be useful.
• Help formalize a positive governance culture for when new board members or superintendents join the governance team.
• Promote a greater awareness and understanding among parents, the media and the public about what boards do and how they can operate most effectively. 
• Help build trust and foster greater participation by parents and the public in the schools.
• Provide parents, the media and the public with a meaningful basis for assessing the effectiveness of their local governance teams.
• Help promote the value of local governance in our democracy. 
• Provide a way for effective governance teams to receive recognition.
• Help educate future candidates and voters about the critical jobs of boards.