22.1-253.13:7 - Standard 7. School board policies - Virginia Statutes

§ 22.1-253.13:7. Standard 7. School board policies.

A. Each local school board shall develop policies and procedures to addresscomplaints of sexual abuse of a student by a teacher or other school boardemployee.

B. Each local school board shall maintain and follow up-to-date policies. Allschool board policies shall be reviewed at least every five years and revisedas needed.

C. Each local school board shall ensure that policies are developed givingconsideration to the views of teachers, parents, and other concerned citizensand addressing the following:

1. A system of two-way communication between employees and the local schoolboard and its administrative staff whereby matters of concern can bediscussed in an orderly and constructive manner;

2. The selection and evaluation of all instructional materials purchased bythe school division, with clear procedures for handling challengedcontroversial materials;

3. The standards of student conduct and attendance and enforcement proceduresdesigned to provide that public education be conducted in an atmosphere freeof disruption and threat to persons or property and supportive of individualrights;

4. School-community communications and community involvement;

5. Guidelines to encourage parents to provide instructional assistance totheir children in the home, which may include voluntary training for theparents of children in grades K through three;

6. Information about procedures for addressing concerns with the schooldivision and recourse available to parents pursuant to § 22.1-87;

7. A cooperatively developed procedure for personnel evaluation appropriateto tasks performed by those being evaluated; and

8. Grievances, dismissals, etc., of teachers, and the implementationprocedure prescribed by the General Assembly and the Board of Education, asprovided in Article 3 (§ 22.1-306 et seq.) of Chapter 15 of this title, andthe maintenance of copies of such procedures.

D. A current copy of the school division policies, required by this section,including the Student Conduct Policy, shall be posted on the division'swebsite and shall be available to employees and to the public. School boardsshall ensure that printed copies of such policies are available as needed tocitizens who do not have online access.

E. An annual announcement shall be made in each division at the beginning ofthe school year and, for parents of students enrolling later in the academicyear, at the time of enrollment, advising the public that the policies areavailable in such places.

(1988, cc. 645, 682, 754; 1990, c. 291; 1992, c. 591; 2004, cc. 939, 955;2007, c. 234; 2008, cc. 474, 827.)