The Board of Education shall determine the policies to serve as a basis for the administration of the
school district. The formulation, development, adoption and revision of written policies, rules and
procedures shall constitute the basic method by which the Board of Education shall exercise its
leadership in the operation of the school district.
The Board may direct the district's administrative staff members to promulgate, implement and
maintain administrative procedures which are consistent with the Board's policies. While the Board
may wish to periodically review these procedures, the administration has the authority to make
adjustments to these procedures without Board approval, unless otherwise instructed by the Board.
The policies, rules and procedures of the Board of Education shall be consistent with the philosophy,
goals and objectives of the district, and shall be readily available to school district patrons.
The superintendent shall ensure that pertinent policies, rules and procedures shall be made available
to the entire school staff annually.
It shall be the duty of the members of the professional and support staff to become familiar with the
policies, rules and procedures so that each may clearly recognize his or her duties and relationships
within the school policies.
Proposals for new policies or revisions of current policies may be initiated by anyone interested in
or connected with the district, and must be presented in writing to the superintendent. The
superintendent and administration will review the proposal and recommend appropriate disposition
of the proposal. Upon its decision, the Board will inform the interested parties of the status of the
proposal and the Board's reasons for acceptance or rejection of the proposal. Except for the
alternative procedures described in this policy, the adoption of policies by the Board will follow the
sequence outlined for policy adoption. In the event of a discrepancy between written materials in
the district, Board policy will take precedence.
Policy Adoption
Policies may be adopted and/or amended only upon a majority vote of the members of the Board
present at a legally constituted meeting in which the proposed policy or amendment has been
included on the agenda and described in writing.
To permit time for study of new policies or amendments to policies, and to provide an opportunity
for interested parties to react, proposed policies or amendments will be presented as agenda items
to the Board.
The formal adoption or revision of policies will be recorded in the minutes of the Board meeting.
Only those written statements so adopted or revised and so recorded will be regarded as official
policies of the Board. Policies may become effective immediately upon adoption, or at a specific
effective date established by the Board and provided in the motion to adopt.
Suspension of Policies
Policies of the Board may only be suspended at an official meeting of the Board by one of the
following procedures:
1. A majority vote of all the members of the Board, if the proposed suspension has been
described in writing.
2. A unanimous vote of all the members of the Board when the proposed suspension has not
been described in writing.
Administration in Policy Absence
The superintendent shall have the power to implement action within the school district if an
emergency situation should develop for which the Board has provided no policy guidelines.
However, the superintendent's decision shall be subject to review by the Board at its next regular
meeting. It is the superintendent's duty to inform the Board of any such action and of the need for
an official policy statement.
Policy Review
The superintendent shall be responsible for the administration of the policies adopted by the Board
of Education. In an effort to ensure that policies are updated to comply with the most recent federal
and state regulations, statutes and court decisions, the Board will review its policies on a continuing
basis. The superintendent is responsible for calling the Board's attention to all policies that are out
of date or that appear to need revision. The superintendent may designate a specific staff person who
will be responsible for entering policy update material into the manual and presenting any update
material received to the superintendent.
The Board directs the superintendent to recall all policy manuals periodically for purposes of
administrative updating and Board review. The superintendent and administrative staff shall make
every effort to ascertain that each copy of the policy manual or any excerpt therefrom is identical.
However, only that copy which is designated "official copy" and which is kept at all times in the
office of the superintendent of schools shall be recognized as authoritative.
Alternative Procedures
The following procedure may be used to formally adopt or delete policies or amend any part of an
existing policy as recommended by an updating service such as that provided through the Missouri
School Boards' Association. Following review of the recommended changes, the Board may vote
to accept the recommendations of the policy service. The recommended changes will then be
considered immediately adopted and will be regarded as official Board policy.
In addition, the Board may determine that an emergency exists, and in such cases may immediately
adopt, repeal or amend a policy. The fact that such policy change is adopted as an emergency
measure shall be stated in the minutes.
* * * * * * *
Note: The reader is encouraged to check the index located at the beginning of this section
for other pertinent policies and to review administrative procedures and/or forms for
related information.
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Adopted: 02/11/2003
Cross Refs: CH, Policy Implementation and Dissemination
KC, Community Involvement in Decision Making
Legal Refs: § 171.011, RSMo.
North Kansas City School District, Kansas City, Missouri
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