National Association of State Boards of Education - Board Duties in Review

1. INDIANA STATE BOARD OF
EDUCATION

2. 1. Review Roles &
Responsibilities
2. Share State Best
Practices
3. Discuss Logistical Issues
4. Next Steps
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3. • Establish educational goals and develop
standards/objectives for local school corps
• Assess attainment of educational goals
•
Assure compliance with educational
standards/objectives
• Coordinate with Commission for Higher Education
(“CHE”) and Department of Workforce Development
(“DWD”) to develop entrepreneurship education
programs for elementary, secondary, and higher ed
and individuals in work force
• Make recommendations to governor and general
assembly concerning educational needs of state,
including financial needs
• Provide for reviews to ensure the validity and
reliability of the ISTEP program.
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4. Key Roles of State
Boards of Education:
Policymaker
Advocate for
Education
Liaison
Consensus
Builder
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5. Policymaker
• Establish educational goals and develop
standards/objectives for local school
corps
• Assess attainment of educational goals
• Assure compliance with educational
standards/objectives
• Provide for reviews to ensure the validity
and reliability of the ISTEP program.
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6. Questions for Discussion:
Do all the policy actors in Indiana have a clear idea of
who does what? Do these policy makers work together in
(relative) harmony?
Does your consideration of new policies include a
process to tie them to your strategic plan?
After policies are adopted, do you go through a regular
cycle of policy reviews – a comprehensive review of the
policy, how it is working, and whether adjustments need
to be made?
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7. Advocate for Education
• Make recommendations to
governor and general assembly
concerning educational needs of
state, including financial needs
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8. Questions for Discussion
- How does our board use the public time on our
agenda? Is it part of an intentional strategy to
highlight what excellence for all students looks like?
- Does your board have policies governing who speaks
for the board? What about social media?
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9. Liaison
• Coordinate with Commission for
Higher Education (“CHE”) and
Department of Workforce
Development (“DWD”) to develop
entrepreneurship education
programs for elementary,
secondary, and higher ed and
individuals in work force
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10. Questions for Discussion
Does the board have a formal approach for reaching out
to other key policymakers: legislators, the Governor,
teachers?
How do we share responsibilities with other agencies
that may have an impact on Indiana schools?
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11. Consensus Builder
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12. Logistical Issues
1. How is your agenda developed?
• What are the long-term and short-term goals of the
board?
• When is the next evaluation & review of the board’s
progress toward the goals?
• What is the board’s process for addressing new and
emerging issues?
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13. Good board agendas
Are directly related to the board’s mission and
goals
Include new information for board members
Include consent agenda items
- Make good use of members’ time.
“Boards should have a clearly defined process for
developing the agenda with specific criteria for adding
items unrelated to the board’s objectives to the agenda.
The board must be adamant in adhering to this process
if it is to avoid an equivocal approach to policymaking.”
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14. One Example:
“A regular committee of Department staff, including the State Board
Executive, Superintendent, and 4 Deputy Supers, proposes agenda items to
an Agenda subcommittee of the board (Board President, VP, secretary, and
any other board member who wants to participate.) As elected officials, the
entire process must be transparent and open to the public”
- Michigan
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15. -
Staffing Issues
Most boards have staff
Size ranges from 1 to 10
No consistency about whether staff report to the state superintendent or
the board directly (but in many cases, the state superintendent is hired
by the board)
Growing trend – boards adding policy staff
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16. Discussion
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17. “A board must govern and discipline itself in a
way that ensures a steadfast commitment to its
mission and goals. The board that does not
annually measure its progress and convey its
policies as a part of a larger design for school
and student improvement is frequently the
board that finds itself under attack for
ineffectiveness from the legislature, the
governor’s office, and the public.”
–“Board Self-Evaluation,” a NASBE publication
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18. CODE OF INDIANA, 20-19-2-14
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19. CODE OF INDIANA, 20-19-2-14
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