Board hears presentation on Trust model policy program, staff and union stress safeguards for district'specific policies

Jennifer McLennan, a policy consultant with the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, described the Trust's model policy program and its tools for school districts during the governing board meeting.

McLennan said the Trust's model policies were created by four law firms, launched in 2022, and are in use or are being adopted by roughly 60 districts. She described the platform (Microscribe), a form bank and an annual update process tied to legislative changes. "This year, it's $500," she said when describing the Trust's initial annual fee, and later noted the schedule can scale for district size and that Osborne would likely be "capped in the $2,500 range" in later years.

The presentation matters because the board may be asked to adopt the Trust's model policy agreement as a whole for the 2026'27 school year; that would replace the district's current policy platform and would change where the district hosts and updates official policy language.

Board members asked how the Trust would preserve local, negotiated or copyrighted policies. McLennan said the Trust would create a district-specific crosswalk from the district's existing manual and could import locally developed policies verbatim where necessary. "We just lift that policy straight up and give it a number and stick it in chapter 4," she said, referring to the Trust's chapter structure. She also described options to review the policy manual chapter-by-chapter and to run leave- and bargaining-related policies past legal counsel when they are complex.

Union representatives said they will participate in any policy review. An OEA (Osborn Education Association) co-leader told the board the union is "committed to participating in any policy work that takes place" and expects to be at the table for policy-by-policy reviews.

Trust staff described the administrative steps the district would need to take to move to the program: preserve a copy of the existing manual, adopt a model policy agreement at a public board meeting to start the transition for the 2026'27 school year, and allow time for staff to crosswalk, consult, and publish the new site. McLennan recommended completing the district review by May so the Trust could build and publish the Microscribe site in June. She said some districts have completed the transition quickly when necessary but that many districts take the full year to allow stakeholder review.

Board members and staff discussed tradeoffs with the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA). McLennan emphasized the Trust's product is "nonjudgmental, nonpolitical, apolitical" and noted that the Trust will not provide general legislative advocacy the way ASBA does. She said the Trust's lobbying is limited to liability and risk issues. Board members asked whether the district would remain an ASBA member for advocacy while using the Trust for policy services; staff confirmed that was an option.

There was no formal motion or vote on the Trust program during the meeting. Board members requested a future agenda item to consider next steps, and staff said a model policy agreement would need to be publicly adopted if the board moves forward.

Ending: The presentation closed with an agreement to return with more information and a timeline if the board requests a formal action item.