The Montgomery County School Board shall be guided by written policies that are readily accessible to the School Board, division employees, students, and citizens. All School Board policies shall be reviewed at least every five years and revised as needed. A current copy of division policies will be kept in the library of each school and in any public library in the county. A current copy of the division policies will be posted on the division’s website. Because the School Board makes its policies available online, the School Board will ensure that printed copies of the policies are available to citizens who do not have online access. The division superintendent shall ensure that an annual announcement is made at the beginning of the school year and, for parents of students who enroll later in the academic year, at the time of enrollment, advising the public that the policies are available in such places.
Generally, it is the responsibility of the School Board to adopt policies for governing the schools. The power to enact policy cannot be delegated to an employee or agent such as the division superintendent or a single member of the School Board. Policy is a basic statement of the intent of the School Board, which creates rights and responsibilities for the conduct of the school system's business. Being of a dynamic nature, policies are subject to revision by the School Board. Regulation is the manner or method of implementation of policy by the division superintendent, subject to change as conditions and/or circumstances may dictate.
Policy Adoption
The School Board is the legislative body that determines all questions of general policy to be employed in the conduct of the public schools. Proposals regarding School Board policies and school division operations may originate at any of several sources, including a member of the School Board, the division superintendent, a citizen, a civic group, a School Board employee, a professional associate, a school study committee, or a consultant.
Policies shall be developed and presented to the School Board evidencing the consideration given to the views of the school division's community and applicable legal references. The final authority for adoption rests solely with the School Board.
Policy proposals and suggested amendments to or revisions of existing policies shall be submitted to the division superintendent and/or the School Board Chair in writing at least four (4) weeks prior to a regularly scheduled School Board meeting in which such proposed policies, amendments, or revisions shall be read and discussed. The division superintendent and School Board Chair will share these suggestions with all Board members. At the direction of the board, the superintendent will work with appropriate staff to prepare such policy for School Board deliberation. The suggested policy will be returned to the School Board at a subsequent meeting (preferably a work session) for an initial reading. A vote for adoption shall take place at the next regular meeting of the School Board. A majority vote is needed for the adoption of a policy. Unless otherwise provided, the new or revised policy will become effective upon adoption, and in the case of an altered policy, will replace the policy. At its discretion, the School Board may approve a policy on an emergency basis on a first reading.
Regulation Adoption
The School Board delegates to the division superintendent the functions of specifying actions required under adopted policies and designing the detailed arrangements under which the policies will be implemented. Such actions and detailed arrangements shall constitute the administrative regulations governing the public schools. They must be consistent in every respect with the policies adopted by the School Board.
In the absence of applicable policy, the division superintendent is authorized to establish needed regulations, subject to later confirmation in policy should the School Board so desire. Any such regulations shall be brought to the attention of the School Board no later than the next regular meeting subsequent to such establishment. It shall be the duty of the division superintendent to inform the School Board promptly of such action and of the need for policy.
The School Board itself shall formulate and adopt administrative regulations only when specific Virginia laws require School Board adoption and may do so when the division superintendent recommends School Board adoption.
The School Board reserves the right to review and veto administrative regulations should they, in the School Board's judgment, be inconsistent with School Board policy.
Policies of the School Board shall be subject to suspension upon a majority vote of the School Board members at a regular meeting for which the proposed suspension has been described in writing, or upon a unanimous vote of all members of the School Board where there is no such written description.
LEGAL REFERENCE: Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, §§ 22.1-70, 22.1-78, 22.1-253.13:7.
Revised: August 2004, August 2007