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May/June 2023

Policy Page: Policy is Your Board’s Voice
What New School Board Members Should Know

By Nicholas Baumann and Tammie Ng

Congratulations on being elected to serve as an Illinois school board member! Your journey in this new role has just begun and there is a whirlwind of events to be completed. With an organizational school board meeting, mandatory board member training, and a Starting Right Workshop, there is a lot of information to learn.

In addition to that, one of your major duties as a newly elected board member is the statutory duty to update and maintain school board policy. Policy is the board’s voice. Are you familiar with what your board’s voice is saying? 

The Board’s Five Policy-Making Roles
Beginning with the School Code, you will find that “the School Board is legally responsible for developing and maintaining a comprehensive board policy manual.” Its policy manual is what the board should use to direct the superintendent, who will lead the administration. This is one of the most important responsibilities of a board — the policy manual should lead the charge for everything that happens in your district. The board’s policy-making roles can generally be divided into five categories:
  1. Develop. Building a well-organized policy manual that defines district goals.
  2. Update. Ensuring legal compliance by updating policies based on state and federal legislative requirements.
  3. Review. Having a review plan in place regardless of whether there are changes in the law that affect a given policy.
  4. Monitor. Ensuring your policies are achieving your board’s objectives.
  5. Communicate. Conveying your policies internally within your district and externally to your community.

Each of these policy-making roles is equally important. Your board should continually engage in all five roles, as policy work is a continuous and ongoing process. If every new board member understands these policy-making roles, you can turn your district’s policy manual into a living document that provides good governance directives to the district at all times. IASB offers various subscription services to help school board members throughout Illinois carry out their policy duties.

Developing and Updating Policies
A school board’s policy manual is developed with considerations to the district’s core values and beliefs, mission and vision statements, and district goals. Policies also require frequent updating because of the constantly evolving state and federal legislation, regulations, court cases, and community values. PRESS, or Policy Reference Education Subscription Service, is the IASB policy and procedure information and updating service. A subscription to PRESS offers many components, including:
  • Policy Reference Manual (PRM): An encyclopedia of sample policies, exhibits, and procedures, along with footnotes with legal rationale and legal references supporting them.
  • PRESS Issues: Periodic updates and revisions to the PRM based upon changes in the law and best practices.
  • PRESS Update Memo: Provides information about governance issues, changes in state or federal law, and regulation or current cases that may affect board policy or administrative procedures in your district.
  • Committee Worksheets: Show the suggested changes to policies, procedures, and exhibits.

With a subscription to PRESS, all PRESS material is available for access through an online web portal, PRESS Online. Each PRESS update is researched, written, and edited by attorneys from the IASB Office of General Counsel and reviewed by volunteer individuals from the legal and education field that compose the PRESS Advisory Board. PRESS is an essential tool for keeping both your board policy and administrative procedures manuals up to date. 

The add-on subscription to PRESS Plus provides additional assistance to help the board keep its policy manual current by providing online access to customized draft updates and incorporating submitted, board-adopted changes into a board’s local manual. 

While the importance of keeping up to date with legislation via PRESS issues cannot be overstated, the poli-cy-making role does not end with considering suggestions from PRESS. As stated in PRESS sample Policy 2:240, “Anyone may propose new policies, changes to existing policies, or deletion of existing policies.” Feedback may come from your board, staff, community, or attorney. Suggestions from staff should be processed through the superin-tendent, having policy recommendations drafted into written form for board deliberation. 

While PRESS offers a number of sample policies and procedures for school boards to consider, your school board may adopt and maintain district-unique policies to address local conditions as well.

Reviewing and Monitoring Your Local Board Policies
While certain policies are required by law to be monitored at particular intervals, other policies include language regarding the board’s commitment to the monitoring process. 

For example, PRESS sample Policy 2:240 states, “The Board will periodically review its policies for relevancy, monitor its policies for effectiveness, and consider whether any modifications are required.” Thus, the board should also be continuously reviewing and monitoring its policies based on unique local conditions and resources within its educational community. Through your review and monitoring process, the following questions should be asked:
  • Is this policy still relevant?
  • Is this still the direction we want?
  • Is this still what we want to say?
  • Is this policy having the effect we intended?
  • Are we getting the results we want? If not, why not?
  • Is our direction being put into district practice?
Boards that want to ensure that policies are always relevant to the district often choose to develop an annual review and monitoring calendar. A review and monitoring calendar establishes a timeline for the board to review various sections of the policy manual throughout the year (e.g., Section 7 from April-June). Doing so assists the board in ensuring review and monitoring work becomes an ongoing process, keeping the policy manual aligned with the dis-trict’s wants and needs, as well as providing an opportunity for continuous board and district improvement.

Communicating Your Board Policy Manual
Through your district’s board policy manual, the superintendent and administrative staff know their expectations and where to look for answers. Policies let parents and students know their rights and responsibilities, and the community what it can expect from its schools. It is important to communicate your board’s voice and let the public know how your district functions through policy.

As a new board member, you will learn there is a lot involved with maintaining your board’s policy manual. IASB policy directors are here to help you every step of the way. 
Nicholas Baumann and Tammie Ng are Directors of the Policy Services Department of the Illinois Associ-ation of School Boards.