Policies for your school board to consider at its annual organizational meeting

On Board Online • March 27, 2017

By Mary Williams-Noi
Policy Consultant

Shortly after you see the Class of 2017 receive their diplomas, it will be time for your school board's annual organizational meeting. In the months prior, your policy committee and/or full board should be evaluating several key board policies.

State law and regulations require annual review of three policies:

• The Code of Conduct.
• Investments policy.
• Purchasing policy.

In addition, federal law requires annual review of Title I Parent and Family Engagement policy.

The annual organizational meeting (sometimes called "re-organizational meeting") is also an opportune time to evaluate your district's attendance policy, if there is an annual decline in building-level attendance data.

NYSSBA Policy Services recommends that your board make policy review a routine part of your board's preparations for its annual organizational meeting. In general, your board should be examining how each policy is working based on data and feedback from staff or other relevant parties. Also consider whether district practices are consistent with your policies and state and/or federal requirements. Does each policy align with and support your board's goals?

Be sure to give yourself enough lead time, especially when the board must consult with certain constituencies or hold a public hearing prior to policy adoption. And remember that most boards require two meetings to adopt a policy - first reading and second reading.

Below is information on what is covered under these key policies and tips on how to review effectiveness.

Parent and Family Engagement policy(NYSSBA sample policy 1900)

A Parent and Family Engagement policy, previously known as "Parental Involvement," is required for districts that receive federal Title I funds. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) made changes to the specific requirements regarding this policy, but did not remove the annual review requirement.

Federal law requires your board's policy to be developed jointly with and agreed on with parents of participating children. Federal law also requires parents to be involved in the annual review of the policy. NYSSBA Policy Services recommends your board also involve the superintendent and other district personnel. Be sure to start this process early enough to implement your new policy by the start of the new school year.

Your board's policy establishes the expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family engagement. It is important to identify strengths and/or weakness of strategies aimed at advancing student achievement. Also, it is important to allow parents to participate and have a voice in the process, not just a signature.

Tip: Ask administrators whether the parent and family engagement strategies outlined in the policy were successful in involving parents and families in school activities. If not, ask why they were unsuccessful, and discuss other possible strategies.

Purchasing policy (6700)

Effective purchasing is a cooperative venture between the purchasing department and other departments within your district. Section 104-b of the General Municipal Law requires your board to adopt internal policies governing all purchases of goods and services not required to be competitively bid pursuant to Section 103. A goal of your board should be to ensure the level of service rendered will be improved by a thorough understanding of the procedures listed in your board's policy.

The law requires your board to purchase in a manner that:

• Uses public monies prudently and economically, in the best interests of the taxpayers of the school district.
• Obtains goods and services of maximum quality at the lowest possible cost under the circumstances.
• Avoids favoritism, wastefulness, extravagance, fraud and corruption.

When reviewing your purchasing policy, a key question to ask is, "What does your board need to put in place to determine if it's meeting its policy goals?"

Consider your district's contracts (supply, service, leases of real property, and construction, etc.). Are they based on sound business judgment? Additional factors to be considered include competition, pricing, fairness and public perception. Does your policy help or hinder the district from obtaining needed goods and services at the best price or value possible? For example, if your policy requires three written quotes for any purchase over $100, this may impede a smooth purchasing process, with little gain.

Tip: Request input from administrators involved in your district's purchasing. It's not only good practice; it's a statutory requirement.

Investments policy (6240)

Districts' cash management often involves investing in financial securities. Also, districts maintain reserve funds that are invested. Under state law, your board is limited to purchasing only certain types of investment instruments. These include:

• Bank certificates of deposit.
• Government bonds.
• Deposits in multiple bank accounts or no-load money market mutual funds that are insured by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

A well-managed investment program can generate additional income for your district to help offset operating costs. Section 39 of the General Municipal Law requires school districts to adopt a comprehensive investment policy establishing the general operative policy as well as procedures for the investing, monitoring and reporting of the district's funds.

In its annual review, your board should ensure the district's investments align with your board's philosophy and provisions of state law.

Your board's investment goal should be to obtain the highest possible yield with the least degree of risk while maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet projected expenditure requirements. In order to meet this objective and to provide accountability, NYSSBA Policy Services recommends:

 Developing a written system to enable the board to monitor the district's investment portfolio routinely and keep board members aware of the district's cash flow position.

• Considering all possible legal investment instruments.
• Avoiding investments contrary to any provision of law.

Tip: Review investments for the current year to determine whether or not they are consistent with the board's policy.

Code of Conduct (5300)

Your district's code of conduct is considered a board policy and needs to be reviewed annually and updated if necessary. It also requires a public hearing, which must include participation by staff, parents, students and any other interested parties. Crucial questions to ask are: Is the code effective at maintaining a safe orderly environment? Is it being applied fairly? Many districts have been making changes to their codes of conduct to try to move away from a punitive model of student discipline to one that strives to keep students in school with appropriate interventions. Any change in the code of conduct can be of great interest to students, staff and parents, so be sure to solicit their feedback before making changes.

Tip: Involve students in this process. Your board has complete discretion as to how students are involved in the review process. If your board has a practice of reviewing its code during your organizational meeting, request input from staff and students beforehand.

Attendance policy (5100)

Concerns about chronic absenteeism have focused attention on attendance policies. (See the Eye on Policy column in the Oct. 17, 2016 issue of On Board for more information.)

Policy can be a tool to promote a culture of regular school attendance. While chronic absenteeism has been linked to a number of external conditions including poverty, hunger, homelessness, mental illness and family stress, school boards can ensure that school policies don't compound the problem. For example, if school staff are penalizing a homeless student for lateness that is due to the hardship of homelessness, that may be counterproductive.

Annually your board must review your building level attendance records to determine how successful your comprehensive attendance policy has been in maintaining or improving attendance in each of its school buildings. If building level attendance records indicate a decline, your board is required to determine if it is necessary to revise its comprehensive attendance policy to improve overall student attendance in the coming year.

Some districts award a course credit if a student meets a minimum attendance standard. If your district is one of these, look for a pattern in which a large number of students attend just enough to earn that credit. Depending on the judgment of your board, that could be success - or an indication of the failure to create a culture in which students want to be in school.

Tip: Look at more than average daily attendance. Those figures can mask trends involving individual students.

Organizational Meeting Policy

There may be additional policies your district feels should be reviewed annually, or your district may have established its own review requirements, such as Student Wellness, Computer Use in Instruction (or Acceptable Use), Harassment policies, Student Health Services or any other policy that your district feels should be reviewed annually. We do not recommend first readings of these policies at your annual organizational meeting. The second read or adoption should take place at this meeting.

A Board Organizational Meeting policy can spell out the general purpose of your board's organizational meeting. This meeting includes appointing committee members and approving items that must be considered annually. This policy should also contain language as to who is in charge of running the meeting until your new president is elected. The process for nominating and electing the board officers should clearly be stated in your board's policy.

NYSSBA's sample policy 2210, Board Organizational Meeting, though not required, may serve as a reminder as to what is legally required and what the board has adopted above and beyond legal requirements. This can be particularly helpful during periods of transition.

Reviewing your board's policies can be helpful for ensuring activity in your district aligns the vision and intent of the board. Remember, NYSSBA's Policy Services is available to guide you along the way with policy assistance.

 
If you would like samples of any of the above noted policies, please email NYSSBA's Policy Department at policy@nyssba.org or call (800) 342-3360 and ask to speak with a member of the Policy Department.