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Series 9000 - Bylaws of the Board

9311 - Formulation, Adoption, And Amendment Of Policies

Formulation, Adoption, And Amendment Of Policies

The governance of the Lopatcong Township School District through policies directed toward providing a thorough and efficient education for its students is one of the most important functions of the Board of Education.  Therefore, the Board will establish a careful process to ensure the:

1. development of clear, workable, and legal policies that reflect mature consideration of the will and needs of the community, and

2. timely, accurate evaluation of the effectiveness of the policies in the achievement of district objectives and progress toward goals.

To ensure that the total policy process is implemented effectively, the Board appoints the Chief School Administrator (CSA) as the overall policy coordinator.  In cooperation with the Board, the CSA shall establish procedures to implement this bylaw including an action plan for:  the careful development of policies and their regular review; appropriate policy goal-setting; a process for evaluation of district and school progress toward, or achievement of, policy goals; and appropriate standards of measurement and criteria for judging such progress.

The procedures will conform in all respects to the bylaws of the Board concerning agenda and meetings.  Interested parties in the school community may submit proposals for additions or amendments to the school district policy manual and may contribute opinions and information for the Board's consideration.

The CSA will keep current with changes in Federal and state laws that may require new policies or amendments to current policies.  In addition, the CSA will constantly review current or anticipated issues facing the district that may require new or amended policies.  The CSA will prepare proposed new or amended policy drafts and present them to the Policy Committee for their review and approval before they are submitted to the full Board.   Any conflicts between proposed and existing policies will be assessed and brought to the attention of the Policy Committee before it considers the CSA’s recommendation and to the Board at the first reading of the proposed new or amended policy.

Notice of possible adoption of a policy will be stated in the Board Meeting Agenda and copies of the proposed policy or amendment will be included in the Board Meeting Material Packet.  While the proposed new policies or current policy amendments don’t need to be actually “read” at the Board meetings, copies must be made available to the public at the first and second reading and on the Board of Education’s website.  Amended policies may be adopted on the first reading and new policies may be adopted on the second reading by a majority vote of the full Board.  The first and second readings of proposed policies or amendments must be at regular Board meetings.  Changes to current policies correcting spelling or typographical errors and/or updating Legal References or Cross-References do not require full Board approval.  However, such changes must be brought to the attention of the Board Secretary and Policy Committee chair.

The CSA will establish and maintain an orderly plan for preserving and making accessible the policies adopted by the Board and the administrative rules and regulations needed to put them into effect.  Every policy must be reviewed at least once every five years to determine if it is still relevant and whether it needs updating to better reflect the current educational environment.  At the discretion of the CSA, the Board Secretary or Policy Committee chair may be engaged to assist the CSA in policy development.

In the interest of efficient administration, the CSA will have the power to decide all matters of detail that may arise for which no specific provision is made in the policies adopted by the Board, but no emergency action will constitute official board policy.  The CSA will present the matter at the next board meeting, so the board can consider policy to deal with that situation in the future.

The Board reserves to itself the right to final determination of what will be the official policy of the Lopatcong Township School District.

Legal References:

See legal reference sheet, File Code:  9311LR.

Cross References:

Key Words:

Board Policy, Policy

Adopted:    March 12, 1985

Revised:     December 13, 2005

Reviewed:  December 13, 2005

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