Board Policy Manual

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Introduction

ABOUT POLICY DEVELOPMENT

Policy development in a modern, forward-looking school system is a dynamic on-going process. New problems, issues and needs make it necessary to develop new policies and to revise existing ones on a regular basis.

Colorado Springs School District Eleven operates according to policies established by the Board of Education. The Board, which represents the local community, develops policies after careful deliberation, and the school administration implements the policies through specific regulations and procedures. The Board then assesses the effects of its policies and makes revisions as necessary.

In the interest of harmony, efficiency, uniformity of interpretation, coordination of effort, and in fairness to all concerned, the board makes this manual available to all who are affected by its policies.

Generally the role of a Board of Education is to set policy and the role of the Administration is to implement policy through regulations. Listed below are definitions set forth by the National School Boards Association which provide a distinction between policies and regulations:

DEFINITIONS

Policies are principles adopted by the Board to chart a course of action. They tell what is wanted and may include why and how much. They are broad enough to indicate a course of action to be taken by the administration in meeting a number of day to day problems; they need to be narrow enough to give the administration clear guidance.

Regulations are detailed directions developed by the administration to put policy into practice. They tell how, by whom, where, and when things are to be done.

These definitions are serviceable most of the time. They reflect sound theory of governance and administration, but the real world does not always conform. For example:

State and federal governments require Boards of Education to make or officially approve detailed regulations and procedures in certain areas.

A Board signs contracts and agreements which may contain and interweave policies, regulations, and procedural detail.

The public, staff, or Board members may demand that the Board itself, not the administration, establish specific regulations and procedures in certain sensitive areas.

It is the intermingling of policy and regulations in law, in contracts, in adopted statements of the Board that causes confusion. Sometimes they are not easily separated. Therefore the separation of policies and regulations in this manual follows several a "rules of thumb" in addition to "basic" theory:

When the school district's practice in a particular area is established by law, any informational statement covering the practice is presented as policy.(A law, of course, may be quoted or referred to in either a policy or a regulation.)
When the district's practice in a particular area has been established through a negotiated agreement, and statement pertaining to that practice are presented as policy.
Where the Board has interwoven regulations with policy and where separation would do harm to the meaning of both, the entire statement is presented in a policy.
Where the Board has adopted rules and by-laws concerning its own organization and operating procedures, these statements appear as policy."

As long as the administration operates within the guidelines of general policy adopted by the Board, it may change regulations without prior Board approval unless Board action is required by law or unless the Board has specifically asked that a particular regulation be given Board approval. The Board, of course, should be kept informed of regulations issued by the administration.

Document Specifications

Dates. Where possible the original date of adoption/approval/issuance appears immediately following each policy/regulation. In other instances, an approximate date or revision date is used.

Legal references. Pertinent legal references are given to tell the reader where in State or Federal Law he may find certain statutes that relate to a policy. Unless otherwise noted, all references direct the reader to the Colorado Revised Statutes, as issued by the last session of the Legislature. Most of the statutes are included in Colorado School Laws published by the Colorado Department of Education. It is important to mention here that other laws and/or court decisions also may be applicable to a particular policy.

Cross references. Certain policies/regulations relate to others. Cross references are provided following many statements to help the reader find all of the related information.

Order of precedence. Board of Education policies and regulations must be read and interpreted in light of Colorado Revised Statutes and State Regulations. Wherever inconsistencies of interpretation arise, the Law and State Regulations prevail.

Terminology. To avoid problems of wording, masculine pronouns are used in this manual refer to both sexes. This is a convention of the National School Boards Association.

The Ongoing Process

The manual contains all of the current written policies of the Board of Education as of the last posting to the web site. But there is a continuous need for adopting new policies and revising old policies. Additionally, state law and regulations change.