Policy Services: Included Services and Things to Know About Membership

Categories of Policies

NDSBA has four tiers of policy templates. These are:

• Required policies are mandated by either state or federal law.
• Cognia (AdvancED) accreditation requires school boards to have policies on policy adoption, fiscal oversight, curriculum, instruction, and assessment; staff development, board ethics, and conflicts of interest. These policies should be adopted based on accreditation standards.
• Recommended policies are not mandated by law but are widely adopted as best practices for school district operations. These policies should be reviewed for district relevance and adopted as needed.
• Member requested policies are created and adopted to suit certain districts’ unique needs. These policies are available upon request to NDSBA and should only be adopted if the district has a genuine need for them. Once adopted, member requested policies should be reviewed annually to ensure the need for them still exists.

FAQ

The most commonly asked questions our office receives:

Why are policies needed?
School districts need policies to comply with state and federal law; to facilitate healthy school district operations; to establish guidelines and principals for the district; to furnish guidance, structure, and vision within a district; to provide direction to school staff; and to allow for consistency and efficiency within the district.

How can my district access NDSBA policies?
Member districts receive 10 complimentary policies of their choice.

• Required Policy Manual provides members with all policies mandated by law or regulation and the policies needed for Cognia accreditation.
• Total Template Service members receive access to all NDSBA policy templates along with any associated regulations/exhibits.

À La Carte Services
NDSBA also offers a number of à la carte policy services:

• Maintenance and Webhosting: NDSBA posts/hosts a district’s policies and board regulations on the district’s website in a searchable format.
• Policy review service: any current member of the “Required” or “Total Template Service” groups are eligible to receive an in-depth review of their existing policy manual for a separate fee.
• Purchasing an individual policy: districts can purchase individual policies of their choice by contacting NDSBA.

When are policies updated?
NDSBA issues the NDSBA Policy Update to all policy services members on a quarterly basis. The update provides members with important information regarding template policies, regulations, and associated documents. The number of updates will depend on factors such as: the length of the policies updated, the number of updated included in each policy, and the content density of the updated policies. NDSBA will only release
updates outside of the quarterly schedule if special or emergency circumstances arise.

Who can I contact if I have a policy-related question?
Contact NDSBA at (701) 255-4127, for assistance with any policy-related question or to find out more about our policy services offered.

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