Policy 208 - Development, Adoption, and Implementation of Policies

The purpose of this policy is to emphasize the importance of the policy-making role of the School Board and provide the means for it to be an ongoing effort.

Formal guidelines are necessary to ensure the school community that the school system responds to its mission and operates in an effective, efficient, and consistent manner. A set of written policies shall be maintained and modified as needed. Policies should define the desire and intent of the School Board and should be in a form which is sufficiently explicit to guide administrative action.

A. The school board has jurisdiction to legislate policy with the force and effect of law for the school district.  School district policy provides the school board’s general direction for the school district while delegating policy implementation to the administration.

B. The school district’s policies provide guidelines and goals to the school community.  The policies are the basis for guidelines and directives created by the administration.  The school board shall determine the effectiveness of policies by evaluating periodic reports from the administration.

C. Policies may be proposed by a school board member, employee, student, or resident of the school district.  Proposed policies or ideas shall be submitted to the superintendent for review prior to possible placement on the school board agenda. 

A. Adoption of new policies or the amendment or repeal of existing policies is solely the responsibility of the School Board.

B. The final action taken to adopt a the proposed new policy shall be approved by a simple majority vote of the school board at a meeting after the two meetings at which public input was received.  The policy will be effective on the latter of the date of passage or the date stated in the motion.

C. If a policy is modified with minor changes that do not affect the substance of the policy or because of a legal change over which the school board has no control, the modified policy may be approved at one meeting at the discretion of the school board. 

D. The Board will adhere to the following procedure in amending or adopting policies to ensure that they are well examined before final action:

1. First meeting--the policy shall be presented for a first reading. If the Board feels that the policy has been sufficiently vetted through appropriate stakeholders and is comfortable with the policy, the Board may vote to approve the policy upon first reading. If any member of the Board feels the policy requires more discussion, the policy may be moved to a Work Session for group discussion. A policy may also be removed from the first meeting if a Board member wishes to have more time to consider the policy before approval.

2. Work Session--the policy shall be discussed and modified as may be appropriate.

3. Second meeting--the policy shall be presented for a second reading, discussed and voted upon.

E. During discussion of a policy proposal, the views of the public and staff will be considered. Amendments may be proposed by Board members. An amendment will not require that the policy go through an additional reading except as the Board determines that the amendment needs further study and that an additional reading would be desirable.

F. Under unusual circumstances, the Board may temporarily approve a policy to meet emergency conditions; however, the above procedure is required before the policy will be considered Permanent.

G. Policies are living documents, and as such, may undergo updates and changes at any time, outside of the regularly scheduled cycle. 

A. The superintendent shall be responsible for implementing school board policies, other than the policies that cover how the school board will operate. The superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines and directives to provide greater specificity and consistency in the process of implementation.  These guidelines and directives, including employee and student handbooks, shall be subject to annual review and approval by the school board.

B. Each school board member shall have access to school district policies.  A copy of the school district policies shall be placed in the office of each school attendance center and in the central school district office and shall be available for reference purposes to other interested persons.

C. The superintendent, employees designated by the superintendent, and individual school board members shall be responsible for keeping the policy current. 

D. The school board shall review policies at least once every four years.  The superintendent shall be responsible for developing a system of periodic review, addressing approximately one third of the policies annually.  In addition, the school board shall review the following policies annually: 506 Student Discipline; 722 Public Data Requests; and 806 Crisis Management Policy.

E. In an effort to keep its written policies current so that they may be used consistently as a basis for Board action and administration decision, the Board will conduct a general review of its policies on a four year cycle (shown below). Some policies may undergo annual review as directed by Minnesota Statute. 

F. When no school board policy exists to provide guidance on a matter, the superintendent is authorized to act appropriately under the circumstances keeping in mind the mission, educational philosophy, and financial condition of the school district.  Under such circumstances, the superintendent shall advise the school board of the need for a policy and present a recommended policy to the school board for approval.

G. During an emergency, only the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee, unless otherwise specified by the School Board, may make public statements, issue news releases, make statements to employees, and make statements to parents and the general public on behalf of the district.

H. Where circumstances require significant administrative action in the absence of Board policy guidelines or legal direction, action shall be taken according to the Superintendent's best judgment.

I. It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to inform the Board promptly of such action and the need for related policy. 

The operation of any section or sections of these policies, not established by law, may be temporarily suspended by a majority vote of the School Board at a regular or special meeting. 

A. The Board delegates to the Superintendent the responsibility for developing and implementing administrative regulations and procedures as may be necessary to carry out Board policies. The Board will review the regulations in a timely manner. The regulations, like policies, are living documents and as such may undergo changes at the discretion of the administration.

• Minn. Stat. § 123B.02, Subd. 1 (School District Powers)
• Minn. Stat. § 123B.09, Subd. 1 (School Board Powers)

• Adopted: November 13, 2017
• Amended: March 14, 2022
• Last Reviewed: March 14, 2022