BOARD POLICY ADMINISTRATION

Board policies serve as a guide in developing administrative regulations and assist in the decision-making process. In addition, there are a number of critical policy initiatives that must be developed and maintained in order to satisfy state and federal mandates and avoid liability. Therefore, establishing and maintaining effective, clearly-written policies is an important responsibility. Our attorneys assist boards of education in the creation, review and amendment of board policies through the following actions:

Conduct a comprehensive policy manual audit of existing policies including relevant manuals, handbooks and other sources;

Purge contradictory or outdated policies;

Draft custom policies and/or modify existing policies to reflect current laws and issues;

Conduct workshops/in-service training on development, application and maintenance of policies;

Make timely recommendations of various policy adoptions or revisions to reflect changes or requirements in relevant state and federal laws, administrative guidelines, and applicable court cases; and

Provide on-going consultation.

Areas of particular interest in recent years include Senate Bill 1 and student discipline; employee and student sexual harassment; the ADA; the FMLA; Ohios Public Employment Risk Reduction Act (PERRA); competitive bidding; and the drug testing of students and employees.