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How board policies are organized and adopted, according to PSBA
Summary
PSBA policy director Davin Smeltzer explains that board policies are the board’s official governing documents, organized in numbered sections, and describes the policy lifecycle from need identification to adoption and administrative regulations.
Davin Smeltzer, PSBA’s senior director of policy services, described board policies as "the board's official governing documents" that guide administrative decisions across programs, students, employees, finance, property, operations and community relations. He outlined the typical numeric organization of a policy manual (000 local procedures; 100 program; 200 student; 300 employee; 600 finance; 700 property; 800 operations; 900 community).
Smeltzer differentiated policies that are mandated by statute and those that are local decisions, and explained that some policies (for example, special education and anti-bullying measures) attract state oversight or specific statutory requirements (bullying policies must be reviewed every three years). He urged candidates to focus on the local board procedures section of their manual to understand how meetings are run and how the board functions.
On process, Smeltzer described the policy life cycle: identify the need or law-driven requirement; draft language; review and provide first and second readings at public meetings; adopt policy; and then delegate administrative regulations to the superintendent or staff to implement details. He recommended keeping policy language high-level to allow administrative regulations to address operational detail.
