By law, one of the school board’s key responsibilities is to adopt and maintain policies to guide governance of the school district. KRS 160.340 (4) states, “It is intended that these policies shall cover matters within the authority and discretion of the district board of education and not matters otherwise required by law or regulation.
Such policies... shall be kept up to date by filing annual amendments thereto each August 15...”
Annual updates come with a checklist that must be completed and returned to the district’s assigned KSBA policy consultant. The checklist includes all update drafts sent, listed by code, and spaces for the district to list other policies/procedures the board chooses to address. Next to each code are blanks and checkboxes to be used to provide approval/review information. A designated staff member will need to put the date the policy was adopted/procedure was reviewed on one blank and the order number for policy adoption, and mark the appropriate action checkbox using the guide below:
Adopt/Accept as Written—Mark this box if NO changes were made to the draft sent in the update.
Adopt with Modifications—Mark this box if ANY changes were made to the draft sent in the update.
Keep Current—Mark this box if you do not want ANY changes to the policy or procedure you currently have in place.
Rescind—Mark this box if the policy or procedure area is to be removed from your manual.
NOTE: Administrative procedures are the responsibility of the superintendent. Therefore, the board should review (not adopt) procedures in one reading, with an opportunity to make comments.
When a draft is adopted with modifications, be sure to indicate the changes on a copy of the document by highlighting or marking the change by hand and return the revised draft with your checklist. Please do not retype the draft with changes, but merely note the changes by hand or in edit mode. Finally, the superintendent and board chair must sign and date the policy checklist before it is returned to KSBA.
