BA-E

BOARD OPERATIONAL GOALS

Responsibilities of Local School Boards

Local school boards exemplify American principles of representative democracy. Ultimately accountable to their publics, local school boards act as community decision-making agencies for the public schools. Moreover, on behalf of local public schools, school boards represent their communities to local, state and national agencies.

In the strong conviction that the American system of Public school education will best meet the needs of the citizenry of all local school boards throughout the United States recognize and meet their full legal, civic, social, economic, moral, and ethical responsibilities, the Association believes that:

1. Standards of Local Board Operations. School Boards should function al non-partisan, broadly representative, corporate bodies. Each member of a school board should let his or her consideration for the entire district take precedence over partisanship and special interest-political, racial, religious, geographic, economic, social, civic, or other.

2. Written Policy: Adoption and Execution. School Boards should adopt clearly defined written policies based on a thorough understanding of the educational process. In formulation the policies, they should consult individuals and groups affected by the policies, and properly delegate execution of those policies to employed professional administrators.

3. Open Board Meetings and Public Information. School Boards should conduct school district business in open session, except as otherwise provided by law, and endeavor by every possible means to inform the public concerning the schools.

4. Citizen Group Involvement. School Boards should encourage citizen participation that increases the public's communication and identification with its schools. To this end, school boards should develop policies that support the concept of citizen advisory bodies and establish clear guidelines that define the task, composition, operation, duration, reporting and evaluation of such bodies.

5. Training and Research. School Boards should seek to improve their own capabilities and procedures and should encourage training, scholarly research, and experimental efforts which offer promise of improving school board capabilities and procedures.

SOURCE: "Beliefs and Policies of the National School Boards Association" as adopted by the NSBA Delegate Assembly, 1973 and amended 1978.

Adoption Date: April 8, 1993