Things To Know About Drafting School Policies And Procedures
A school is a complex organization with many unique aspects. Parents expect their children's safety and good education; teachers expect assistance for performing their job effectively; students want to learn and get opportunities to grow. In order to fulfill all these expectations and ensure the smooth functioning of the school, it is essential to lay down certain policies and procedures.
It is imperative to document school policies and procedures and share them with kids, parents, and staff. It helps prevent misunderstandings, disagreements, and litigations that might be imposed while running a school.
But let’s face it, writing up school policies and procedures isn’t an easy task. It requires a lot of brainstorming and a deep understanding of government rules, regulations, and the requirements of society. To simplify things for you, we have pulled together some suggestions that will assist you in drafting school policies and procedures.
Ready to start your own school? Well, read our guide first.
Learn About Bylaws, Policies, and Procedures
Before we dig deep into school policies and procedures, let’s learn about three crucial aspects that every school must consider. Bylaws, policies, and procedures are important factors that need special attention while opening up an institution. All of these establish the framework for how a school will operate. To better understand each of these terms, read below.
Bylaws: Bylaws are rules or laws established by private schools to outline the legal boundaries for operation and governance. These are must for all the schools that are registered as non-profit organizations.
Policies: Policies are rules or regulations established by the school administration. They define expectations for students, staff, as well as parents and provide a framework for dealing with violations of the standards or expectations.
Procedures: The procedures are drafted to formalize the functioning of a school. They are guidelines on how things should be done in the institution, how different tasks should be carried out, and how authorities should react in different situations.
Importance Of Documenting School Policies And Procedures
In every school, policies and procedures play a crucial role. Documenting them is vital for every school because:
- Sets Expectations: Policies and procedures set expectations that help unite the school and tell everyone what is expected of them. It serves the institution with an effective learning environment, bringing everyone on the same page rather than engaging in disagreements. Attendance policy, dress code instructions, rules regarding cell phones and electronic devices, etc., are some documents that establish expectations.
- Provides A Safe Environment: School policies and procedures are much more than just about fairness and expectations. They are also important for providing a safe environment for students and teachers. By creating guidelines for safety from physical, emotional, and psychological harm, students can feel a sense of security. The documents that contribute to a safer environment are anti-bullying and sexual harassment, student code of conduct, fighting/weapons rules, alcohol, drugs, and tobacco policy, and more.
- Establishes Solutions Before There’s An Issue: Many scenarios take place in school on a regular basis that makes day-to-day operations of the institution complicated. This might even lead to fights or other problems in school, and the administration doesn’t want to wait for things to go wrong before addressing such issues. Hence, the draft policies and procedures mention how teachers, students, or parents should react in a given situation. This ensures quick settlement in case of any dispute.
Documents For School Policies And Procedures
Handbooks
While creating school policies and procedures, handbooks come first in mind. A handbook is a valuable resource that ensures that everyone at the school, be it teacher, student, parent, or staff, are on the same page and have complete knowledge of the behavioral and academic standards of the school. These handbooks are considered the school's comprehensive policy book that anyone can look up to ensure that the issues are handled fairly and that things are working in the right order.
The handbook designed for parents and their kids is known as the parent/student handbook. It includes all the information needed to offer better education and experience to children. There are several policies that are included in such a handbook. This includes:
- Behavior Policy
- Disciplinary Actions
- Attendance Policy
- Anti-Bullying Policy
- Academic Expectations
- Parental Involvement Policy
- First Aid Guidelines
- School Fee Policy
- Uniform Instructions
- Child Safety Policy and more.
Other than parents/students handbooks, there's a staff handbook too. It is to make staff aware of what is expected from them on a professional ground. This handbook includes details for human resources like payroll process, sick leave policies, insurance benefits, dress code, vacation day accrual, performance evaluations, and more. It basically emphasizes core values and sets expectations for dealing with parents and students.
Operations Manual
Operations Manual is another document for school policies and procedures. It states all the procedures of how things are required to be done in school.
For running a school, several tasks are accomplished by the staff on a daily basis. All the members must be aware of how these tasks should be done. And all of this is mentioned in the operations manual.
Let’s take the example of daily attendance. A manual includes all the details regarding the attendance, such as who is responsible for it, when it should be taken, how it will be recorded, when parents should be notified, etc. Every step to be made by the staff is communicated to them via an operations manual. Having it in writing makes it easy to provide clear instructions to all the staff and can be referred back in case of any doubt.
Tips For Generating School Policies And Procedures
Drafting school policies and procedures come with real challenges. Sitting down and documenting every pointer might become overwhelming and can consume a lot of time. Also, since these procedures change over time, it becomes essential to update the documents on a regular basis. This makes it more daunting. To help overcome these challenges and make the process a little easier for you, here are some tips that you must keep in mind.
- Avoid complexity & keep school policies and procedures simple
- Build the documents over a period of time by updating and making additions
- Rather than printing new editions every time, write and publish documents online
Final Thoughts:
This is all the information you need to know for drafting school policies and procedures. Having the right policies and procedures guarantees smooth and productive operations of the school and serves a better environment for all the students. Review this article carefully and expand your knowledge.