CSBA’s Professional Governance Standards project came about as a proactive way to engage school board members and the public in discussions about the importance of school board accountability, especially in light of the statewide and nationwide emphasis on accountability

The Professional Governance Standards describe commonly agreed upon principles of effective governance in three areas: the individual trustee, how individual board members and the superintendent must work together, and the specific jobs that the board must carry out.

The concepts for the standards are based on the extensive work of CSBA's Effective Governance System and the Masters in Governance curriculum, which were developed during the past several years with the input of hundreds of board members, superintendents and policy experts.

The Professional Governance Standards were officially adopted by the 270-member CSBA Delegate Assembly in fall 2000, after extensive input and deliberations by school board members and superintendents throughout the state. The work was driven by a Governance Standards Task Force. A set of corollary Superintendents Governance Standards was also adopted by the Association of California School Administrators. In fall 2001 a set of Professional Governance Standards for County Boards was officially adopted.

The standards provide a framework for boards to help them operate more effectively on behalf of the students they serve. The standards also provide a meaningful way for parents and communities to better understand and assess their local school boards.

“By adopting and living up to the Professional Governance Standards, we are modeling what we expect from our students and our staff,” said Rose Filicetti, a board member in the Mountain View-Whisman School District in Santa Clara County.