School Board Governance Basics
IASB has a variety of resources to facilitate school board governance and policy work. The following resources offered by the Association form the basic tenets of effective school board governance:
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The Foundational Principles of Effective Governance have served as the Illinois Association of School Boards’ primary document to explain the role of school board members in their district. These six principles are the cornerstone of IASB’s beliefs about the governance process.
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Supporting these principles are certain responsibilities. These include the Code of Conduct, standards for ethical and effective behavior for all school board members.
- Coinciding with these responsibilities are the School Board Member Opportunities and Expectations, a summary of the treatment that all board members are entitled to expect as members of the school board.
Other helpful resources
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Orientation — Orientation: Building the Board Team is a publication that outlines the work of school boards in a process designed to facilitate conversations about a school district's identity, purpose and the board processes available to fulfill that purpose.
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Oath of Office — School board members, before taking their seats on the board, are required to take an official oath of office.
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Seating new members and organizing the board — State law requires each school board to hold an organizational meeting following the consolidated election held in odd-numbered years. Organizing the Board describes the legal requirements and process for seating new board members and organizing the school board.
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Educational Equity — View resources aimed to develop school board member competence and confidence in support of educational equity to assist school districts on their equity journeys.
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Superintendent Evaluations — The Superintendent Evaluation Process (pdf) suggests a best practices approach to help school boards develop a superintendent evaluation process that supports effective leadership for the district.
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Sample Board Protocols — A list of sample school board protocols with regard to some common board process questions.
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OMA Exemptions — Illinois law allows some OMA exemptions for school boards to hold closed meetings as stipulated under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
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Educational Acronyms — IASB compiles a list of commonly used educational and education-related acronyms. It is not intended to serve as a comprehensive listing. Download the list of educational acronyms.
The IASB Office of General Counsel offers numerous guidance documents to help provide clarity and understanding for a number of complicated laws and legal issues that impact local school governance.
Additional tools and processes that require deeper examination or have limited interest to the public and available to superintendents, board members, and board secretaries of member districts.