Policy Manual Development - Year 1

Policy Services will collaborate with the district to develop a new comprehensive board-adopted Policy Manual that is up to date with law, regulation, guidance, and best practices. The district will work to tailor the provided sample policies to reflect the culture and practices of the district.

Policy Services will work with the district to develop a Policy Manual that:

• Provides an infrastructure of governance for the district
• States the mission of the district, the objectives to be reached, and the standards to be maintained
• Communicates to the district and community the board's governance positions
• Outlines the processes for the allocation of responsibilities and delegation of duties to specific staff members and the methods to be used and the reasoning to be applied in conducting the district's business
• Increases the likelihood that the board's decisions will be implemented in an objective and consistent manner
• Provides an orientation tool for new board members

After completion of the Policy Manual, the district should consider the development of an Administrative (Regulation) Manual. The Administrative Manual is a companion to the Policy Manual and includes regulations and forms which serve to implement the board's policies.

Cost: $9,400 (usually split over two academic years)

First year of development = $4,700

Second year of development = $4,700

Extension year = $2,600 (if necessary)

None

The district will contact Policy Services to discuss their needs and the feasibility of developing a new Policy Manual and to request cross-contracts or service level agreements as applicable. Once the district is subscribed to the Policy Manual Development service, the district will appoint a representative to serve as the main contact for the project and communicate this information to Policy Services.

At the beginning of the Policy Manual Development process, the district will complete a first draft questionnaire and email it to their assigned policy coordinator. The district's responses to the questionnaire will be used to customize the district's first draft Policy Manual which will reflect Policy Services' sample language that is up to date with law, regulation, guidance, and best practices.

After the district's first draft Policy Manual is prepared, it will be sent to the district along with supporting documents, including review procedures and revision instructions, to assist the district with its review of the first draft. The district should review and revise the entire first draft following the review procedures and revision instructions provided. District administrators, board members, and/or counsel must review and revise all policies in the first draft to ensure they reflect district-specific circumstances and practices.

After the district has finished reviewing and revising the entire first draft, all district revisions must be compiled and placed into one complete master copy of the draft to return to Policy Services for incorporation and preparation of a second draft. The second draft will include the district's first draft revisions and suggested revisions to policies due to changes in law, regulation, guidance, and best practices since the first draft was created.

After the district's second draft Policy Manual is prepared, it will be sent to the district along with supporting documents, including a customization and commentary chart, to assist the district with its review of the second draft. Revisions to the second draft should be made by the district and returned to their policy coordinator following the review procedures and revision instructions provided with the first draft.

The district will be provided a final draft Policy Manual which must be adopted as a whole with one adoption date. Once adopted, a Word version of the completed Policy Manual will be emailed to the district. A limited number of CDs and flash drives and/or up to five paper copies of the completed Policy Manual will be provided. 

After completion of the Policy Manual, districts should select a maintenance level in order to keep the completed Policy Manual up to date. The three levels of service to assist districts in maintaining their Policy Manual are Monthly Policy Updates (Level 1), Quarterly Policy Revisions (Level 2), or Policy Audits (Level 3). For more information on these services, descriptions can be found in the service directory.

After the completion of the Policy Manual, the district should consider the development of an Administrative (Regulation) Manual, which is a companion to the Policy Manual and includes regulations and forms to implement the board's policies.

Districts considering the development of a new Policy Manual should contact the manager of Policy Services to discuss the district's needs and obtain information about the process of developing a new Policy Manual. If the district decides to subscribe to the Policy Manual Development service, the manager of Policy Services will prepare and send any necessary cross-contracts or service level agreements to the district.

Once the district is subscribed to the Policy Manual Development service, a policy coordinator will be assigned to work directly with the district and guide them through the process.

The policy coordinator will email the district a first draft questionnaire. After the policy coordinator receives the completed first draft questionnaire from the district, Policy Services will prepare the district's new first draft Policy Manual. Policy Services' sample language is used to prepare the first draft as it is up to date with law, regulation, guidance, and best practices. Policy Services generally does not review and/or comment on a district's existing Policy Manual when developing the first draft.

Policy Services will email the district the first draft along with supporting documents, including review procedures and revision instructions, to assist the district with its review of the first draft.

Once Policy Services receives the district's first draft revisions, a second draft Policy Manual will be prepared. Policy Services will not create a second draft Policy Manual for the district until the district has returned all revisions to the entire first draft.

In preparing the second draft, Policy Services will incorporate the district's first draft revisions and make any other needed revisions due to changes in law, regulation, guidance, and best practices since the first draft was created.

Policy Services will email the second draft to the district along with supporting documents, including a customization and commentary chart, to assist the district with its review of the second draft. The customization and commentary chart details which policies require customization, a rationale for any substantive revisions made by Policy Services, and any questions or concerns Policy Services has related to the district's revisions.

After the district has communicated to the policy coordinator that its' review of the second draft is complete, the policy coordinator will work with the district to determine the next steps to complete the development of the Policy Manual. Once Policy Services receives the adoption date for the Policy Manual and all final district revisions, a completed Policy Manual will be prepared.

The policy coordinator will email the district a Word version of the completed Policy Manual. A limited number of CDs and flash drives and/or up to five paper copies of the completed Policy Manual will be provided. Upon request, Policy Services will provide additional paper copies of the completed Policy Manual for an additional cost.

Following completion of the Policy Manual, the policy coordinator will discuss with the district the three maintenance levels that Policy Services offers to keep newly completed policy manuals up to date. The three levels of service are Monthly Policy Updates (Level 1), Quarterly Policy Revisions (Level 2), and Policy Audits (Level 3). For more information on these services, descriptions can be found in the service directory.

After completion of the Policy Manual, districts will have the option to contract for Policy Services Support within BoardDocs, and our staff will upload the new Policy Manual for the district.