As some of us are taking turns doing a blog post in the
Superintendent’s absence, I’ve been asked to write about how policies are
written. So I’ve thought about what I
would want to know, as a parent, about the policies in my child’s school
district.
I suppose I would first ask: Where are the policies? Sure,
there are a few that are in our student handbook each year, but there are
more?
Oh, yes. We have all of our policies listed on our website,
under School Board Policies. There, you’ll see them clearly
indexed by topic. We also have a
complete policy book (hard copy – in a binder, not electronic) at Dudley Tucker
Library, as well as each school library.
Every time a policy is revised, added, or removed, these binders and the
website are updated accordingly.
And then, after I clicked on that link and saw just how many
policies there are, I suppose I would ask: How do you keep up with it all?
Well, I’m glad you asked. We are prompted to review a policy or adopt a
new policy through a number of avenues.
One of those is the New Hampshire School Boards Association (NHSBA). They provide us with updates throughout the
year of legal changes that may require some attention to policy. We also review
policies based on advice from our school attorneys, advisories from the NH
Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education, as well as parent
and student input and experiences.
Periodically, our School Board
Policy Committee meets to review those advisories and advice. When a policy does need to be revised, or
when a new policy needs to be adopted, the Policy Committee forwards their
recommendations on to the School Board.
What happens then?
It’s School Board policy to bring a
new or revised policy to the Board for two readings.
The first reading is just that – a reading. The new or revised policy is traditionally
read aloud in its entirety. Following
that, the School Board may discuss any questions or further revisions they may
want to make. And then that’s it. It doesn’t go the School Board for final
approval and adoption until at least two weeks from that time. Why the wait?
This time allows the public to provide their input on the proposed first
reading of the policy, if they so choose.
And how do we find out when a policy is up for revision?
You will always find the policies
that are up for revision or adoption listed as part of our School Board meeting
agendas. Our agendas are typically
posted the Friday before a Board meeting at each of the schools and the Town
Office. We also post the agenda on our
website, on our District Facebook page, and on RCTV.
If you visit our website, www.sau33.com/agenda, you will also find
links to the complete revised/new proposed policies for the upcoming meeting. They
will be clearly marked as either “First Reading” (which is the first look
through) or “Second Reading” (which is adoption), with proposed revisions noted
clearly on each. You are always welcome to contact the Superintendent
or the School Board with your comments about these policies.
Jennifer Heywood
Administrative Assistant to the
Superintendent of Schools
