Running the ‘GAMUT’ and beyond, CSBA’s policy services help members
Published: May 1, 2011
The recent publication of CSBA’s first Policy News newsletter for 2011 provided updates on state and federal education program changes, legal restrictions on public agencies’ political activity—an urgent issue at a time when schools have to make a case for their share of shrinking government revenues—and much more.
“That’s how I find out about a lot of policy developments,” Donnetta Murray, secretary to Corcoran Unified School District Superintendent Rich Merlo, said recently. Published three times a year, Policy News gives the background behind new policies, helping to keep school board members, superintendents and staff informed of topical governance and policy developments.
A link to the current issue of Policy News is always available on CSBA’s Policy Advisories and Briefs Web page—a central clearinghouse for information on current policy issues. More than a dozen updates have been added to the Policy Advisory and Briefs page in the past 12 months, on topics ranging from chronic absence, community schools and foster youth to cyberbullying, nutrition and beyond.
But that’s just one of many policy resources that CSBA members can rely on to keep their school districts and county offices of education up-to-date. For nearly 50 years now, CSBA has provided a variety of policy services to help governing boards keep current with new laws and regulations that affect their local policies. Central to those services is the availability of hundreds of sample policies that can be adapted to fit local circumstances.
CSBA’s policy services have evolved, going from the provision of bound copies of sample policies, regulations and exhibits to electronic CDs. GAMUT Online brought the resource into the 21st century in 2001, allowing authorized users to access CSBA’s hundreds of sample policies, as well as California’s entire Education Code and other state and federal regulations, from any computer via the Web.
Like most of CSBA’s members, Corcoran Unified subscribes to GAMUT Online.
“We can’t do without it. We tried for one year and we lost ground in updating policies to meet the district’s needs and fulfill mandated requirements,” said Murray, in Corcoran’s superintendent’s office. “We just don’t have enough time or the legal expertise to update policies ourselves. We’re a small district, and GAMUT helps tremendously.”
Beyond GAMUT
Another key service option is CSBA’s Policy Manual Maintenance program, offering policy updates, consulting and word processing services with a minimal investment of time and money. When a district or county office subscribes to both Manual Maintenance and GAMUT Online its policy manual can be added to GAMUT, with access provided to members of the community.
School districts also adopt their own distinct policies to reflect local priorities, of course, but with hundreds of new state and federal laws enacted every year, those policies can get out of sync with higher governments’ requirements. Even there, though, CSBA has programs to help.
In an ever-changing regulatory landscape and the broader social context, local policy manuals may sometimes benefit from an independent review. That’s where CSBA’s Policy Audit Program can help. A CSBA consultant will analyze a district’s policies, regulations, and bylaws to determine if they reflect current requirements. The district will receive a report that highlights problems and helps identify priority areas that should be brought into compliance.
A CSBA Policy Development Workshop can also be useful. These workshops combine the expertise and experience of a CSBA consultant and a local educational agency’s own personnel to produce a policy manual that meets local needs while complying with state and federal requirements. Participants attend a two- to three-day workshop at a facility provided by the LEA; CSBA’s consultant provides a core reference manual, including a full volume of sample policies, regulations and bylaws, and then advises the local representatives on how they can customize the manual to reflect local philosophy and practice. Upon adoption, the district receives a ready-to-print hard copy and electronic file of the new policy manual. On request, CSBA will even bring several small school districts together to provide policy development within a group setting.
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