Policy Audits - Level 3
For Policy Manuals recently developed with Policy Services, this service provides districts with customized updating to reflect changes in law and regulations. Proposed changes will be annually sent to the district in a highlighted fashion for ease of board of education review. Once the recommended revisions are adopted by the board, the changes are prepared in multiple copies for insertion into the Policy Manuals. New CDs will also be provided to the district. Additionally, districts will receive the Monthly Policy Updates.
Any Policy Audit after one full year of development will be considered an Extended Audit and will be billed as a Special Project.
The policy coordinator will provide a packet of all the new and revised policies developed in the period between the completion of the Policy Manual or the completion of the most previous Policy Audit, along with a chart summarizing all the revisions in that time frame. The next Policy Audit will not be developed until the district has completed the full review and adoption of the current Policy Audit. Ideally, these Audits will be developed and completed on an annual cycle.
As the district approaches the completion of the Policy Manual, they will be encouraged to explore options for the maintenance of the newly completed manual. Although the ideal time to join this service is immediately upon completion of a new Policy Manual, it may also occur within one year of the Policy Manual completion. The district will supply Policy Services with all new or revised Policies since the completion of the Policy Manual or since the time of the previous Policy Audit. The district will commit to working with Policy Services on the completion of the Policy Audit, following the designated timeline and processes. In order to ensure that the Policy Manuals are updated in a timely fashion, the district must respond and complete the Policy Audit within a reasonable time frame. The next Policy Audit will not be started until the previous Audit is fully completed.
As the district approaches the completion of their new Policy Manual, Policy Services will summarize the various options for the maintenance of the newly completed manual. Once a district commitment is made to participate in the Policy Audit, the policy coordinator will prepare the Audit, which includes a chart listing the new policies and recommended revisions, along with copies of the revised policies with the recommended revisions highlighted for ease of board review. An instruction guide with respect to the completion of the Policy Audit will be provided to assist districts with the audit process.
Once all of the policies in the Audit have been reviewed and adopted/revised by the board of education, Policy Services will provide inserts for district manuals, as well as updated CDs. Based on various circumstances and distance, the policy coordinator will either visit the district to insert the updated pages into the Policy Manual or mail the inserts for placement into the Policy Manuals by district staff. Districts may choose to combine this service with the new Online Policy Manual service. This service allows districts to have their Policy Manual placed in a secure online document library which will be maintained by Policy Services. The online Policy Manual will be linked to the district's existing website to allow access by the school community. (Refer to the description for the Online Policy Manual for further details.)
Policy Services staff will be available to answer questions at every stage of the process and provide additional sample policies or information on various policy topics as needed.