FILE: BD
Cf: BC
SCHOOL BOARD POLICY
The Orleans Parish School Board shall formulate policies to guide its actions and the actions of those to whom it delegates authority. These policies shall govern the operation of the school district. All policies shall be recorded in writing and made a part of the official School Board Policy Manual.
The formulation and adoption of School Board policies shall constitute the primary means by which the School Board shall exercise its leadership in the operation of the school district. When establishing School Board policies, the School Board shall prioritize student achievement, financial efficiency, and workforce development. The study and evaluation of reports concerning the execution of its written policies shall constitute the basic method by which the School Board shall exercise its control over the operation of the school district.
The policies of the School Board are meant to be interpreted in terms of Louisiana laws, rules and regulations of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and all other regulatory agencies within the local, parish, state, and federal levels of government.
DRAFTING OF POLICY
The School Board recognizes the development of sound educational policies as a complex and continuous process. The School Board, Superintendent and staff fully realize the need for continuous input from school district personnel, the School Board’s legal counsel, students and lay citizens. It is the intent of the School Board that consideration for adoption of policies and policy amendments be given wide exposure, in order that the School Board receives suggestions from all segments of the school district before final adoption.
The preliminary development of policy statements shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent and staff with the assistance of the General Counsel. Proposed policies shall be developed based on pertinent research and input from personnel within the school system, to ensure that the policy statements adopted by the School Board offer maximum effectiveness and consistency in their application and interpretation.
Policy drafts shall be typewritten and shall convey a thorough description of the proposal. In the presentation of proposed revisions to policies, words in struck through type are deletions from existing policy; words underscored are additions to policy.
Only after a proposed policy statement has been so drafted, shall it be presented to the School Board for its consideration.
POLICY REVISION AND ADOPTION
To ensure that policies are well examined before final action, the School Board shall adhere to the following sequence in considering and adopting proposed new policies or policy amendments:
First meeting - The proposal shall be presented to the Policy Committee for first reading, along with any objectives or rationale for the proposed policy, as an information item and shall be made available for public review for thirty (30) days or until the next regularly scheduled Policy Committee meeting.
Second meeting - The proposal shall be presented to the Policy Committee for a second reading as an action item. During discussion of the policy proposal, the views of the public and staff shall be considered. Amendments to the policy proposal may be introduced and acted upon. An amendment shall not require that the policy go through an additional reading unless the Policy Committee determines that the amendment needs further study and that an additional reading would be desirable. The Policy Committee shall make a recommendation regarding the proposed policy, which shall be presented at the next scheduled School Board meeting.
Third meeting – The proposal, along with the recommendations of the Policy Committee, shall be presented to the School Board for consideration and adoption. Amendments may be adopted by the School Board. An amendment shall not require that the policy go through an additional reading unless the School Board determines that the amendment needs further study and that an additional reading would be desirable.
For a policy or policy amendment to be adopted by the School Board, it must receive an affirmative vote of two-thirds (⅔) of the School Board.
In its discretion, the School Board may, by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the members present, dispense with the above sequence and take immediate action to adopt or revise a policy.
The formal adoption of School Board policies shall be recorded in the minutes of the School Board, along with the title and descriptor code of the policy approved. The official minutes shall constitute the authority for any change made in the Policy Manual.
The School Board is recognized as the legal body authorized to approve policies for the School District, and shall not delegate or relinquish that authority to another party or group. The School Board welcomes comments and suggestions on local policy matters, and shall comply with all laws addressing proper involvement of other parties in the policy process.
TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS
Periodically, it may be necessary to make technical corrections to policies that have already been adopted. These technical corrections may include transferring sections, renumbering or recoding sections, correcting grammatical or typographical errors, and/or correcting references or citations.
The School Board shall delegate to the Superintendent the authority to make such technical corrections when necessary. The Superintendent shall notify the School Board of any corrections made as soon as possible thereafter.
POLICY REVIEW
The School Board shall periodically direct the systematic review of its policies. The Superintendent shall appropriately involve representative groups of administrators, teachers, supervisors, students, support personnel and lay citizens relative to the development and/or revision of policies affecting each group.
Discipline Policy Review Committee
The School Board shall appoint a discipline policy review committee as required by state law whose selection of members shall be neither discriminatory nor arbitrary in nature. The purpose of the discipline policy review committee shall be to review discipline policies of the School Board to assure consistency with state law, receive input into the effectiveness of established policy, and make recommendations to improve policy provisions and to assist the School Board in the orderly operation of the school district. In particular, state law requires the disciplinary policy review committee to review the School Board’s student discipline policies annually to make recommendations for appropriate revisions.
A public hearing shall be held on the recommendations to improve policy revisions and to assist the School Board in the orderly operation of the school district before the School Board considers revising any of the discipline policies. State law also requires the administrators, teachers and parents of each public school to meet annually and develop or review the discipline regulations for their school and assure compliance with School Board policy and state law.
POLICY DISSEMINATION
The School Board shall direct the Superintendent to establish and maintain an orderly plan for disseminating School Board policies and administrative rules and regulations.
School Board policies and administrative rules and regulations shall be made accessible to all employees of the school district directly or indirectly affected by those policies. School Board policies and administrative rules and regulations shall also be made accessible to members of the School Board, students and members of the community served by the school district.
SUSPENSION OF POLICY
The operation of policy or a section of policy not established by law or contract may be temporarily suspended by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of School Board members present at a regular or special meeting.
ADMINISTRATION IN ABSENCE OF POLICY
In cases where action must be taken within the school system where the School Board has no formalized policy statement, the Superintendent shall have the power to act. His or her decisions, however, shall be subject to review by action of the School Board at its regular meeting. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to inform the School Board promptly of such action and of the need for policy if in his or her best judgment, a need for such policy exists.
Ref: Constitution of Louisiana, Art. VI, Sec. 10
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:416.8
Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators, Bulletin 741, Louisiana Department of Education
Orleans Parish School Board