Plan to review policies annually
New laws, court decisions, societal trends may prompt changes
Published: October 31, 2012
Local governance teams should plan to review their district policies each year to account for new legislation, court decisions, administrative regulations and societal changes.
It’s that continual process of policy review and revision that ensures a district’s policies actually reflect the community’s values, beliefs and priorities, says Martin Gonzalez, CSBA assistant executive director for Member Services.
CSBA’s Policy Services staff and legal counsel are continually combing through new laws and regulations, as well as recent court decisions and other conditions to develop sample board policies and regulations to guide local districts. Updated sample policies are sent three times each year to Policy Services subscribers.
While CSBA’s sample policies cite applicable legal and educational codes and offer options to consider when drafting a local policy, governance teams should consider how they might incorporate local values, beliefs and priorities in their final adopted policies.
“That’s why the role of the board is so important,” Gonzalez says. “The policies have to resonate with the community.”
The process of adopting policy should not be taken for granted, he continues, urging local boards to give extra attention to policies that have the potential for creating controversy, including review by legal counsel.
As society changes, new trends often call for a review of existing board policies or for adding a new policy, says Bode Owoyele, senior director of CSBA’s Policy Manual Maintenance service. That’s been the case in recent years in response to the use of new technologies such as cell phones and social networking platforms in schools; or new state laws that shift the emphasis away from zero tolerance discipline policies that were once quite popular.
“Policies need to be reviewed periodically so the board can ensure that what their policies say is what they actually do in their district,” says Policy Manual Consultant Cindy Akin, who regularly works with districts to review and update their policies.
The Policy Services department produces an annual guide to the major policy issues addressed throughout the year; “Policies in Review” is posted on the CSBA website. The 2012 edition will be released in December.