Resource Library

Foundation and Basic Commitments are essential principles and obligations guiding the educational framework and operational ethos of a district. These commitments serve as the cornerstone for establishing a conducive learning environment providing students equitable access to quality education. The Foundation Commitments encompass the district’s mission, vision, and core values articulating the overarching goals and aspirations for student achievement and community engagement.

The reform-minded school board member is an individual actively implementing changes and improvements within the educational system, prioritizing student outcomes and their quality of education. This member is characterized by a commitment to innovative practices and evidence-based policies.

Citizens First School District Organizational Chart (R) prioritizes citizens above elected officials and administrative staff whereas many school district’s organization charts assume authority rests with the superintendent alone. This organization chart restores community at the forefront of decision making.

Mission Statement serves as the guiding framework articulating the school district’s core values, objectives, and aspirations. It encapsulates a commitment to fostering a challenging, supportive learning environment, where every student is motivated to achieve their fullest potential. It outlines the district’s dedication to academic excellence, the promotion of critical thinking, and the development of responsible citizenship among students.

Vision Statement serves as a guiding framework articulating the long-term aspirations and goals of the educational community. It encapsulates the district’s commitment to fostering an environment conducive to learning, growth, and development for students. This statement reflects the values and priorities of the district, emphasizing the importance of academic excellence, and community engagement.

Value Statement serves as a foundational document articulating the core principles and beliefs guiding the educational community, reflecting the district’s commitment to fostering a supportive environment for all students, educators, and families. It emphasizes the importance of academic excellence and collaboration among stakeholders, and the promotion of lifelong learning.

You are elected! You now represent the people to the school district, not the other way around. The education establishment is likely to advocate for their interests, not the students. That is why it is important for you to educate yourself. This section takes you through what to do after winning, once seated, and how to conduct yourself on the school board.

Getting yourself acquainted with education culture will be a big learning curve as there are practices and policies which govern how public education functions in communities.

NSBLC Video(s) are helpful seminars for new school board members.

1. Preparing for the First Board Meeting provides the information you need about a school division prior to your first meeting, arming you with the knowledge needed to be a successful board member.
2. Use of Robert’s Rules of Order helps you understand Robert’s Rules of Order, so you can effectively advocate for change within your district.
3. Robert’s Rules & Parliamentary Procedure provides additional information on parliamentary procedure, helping you understand niche aspects of how board meetings should be conducted.

Preparing for the First Board Meeting provides the information you need about a school division prior to your first meeting, arming you with the knowledge needed to be a successful board member.

Use of Robert’s Rules of Order helps you understand Robert’s Rules of Order, so you can effectively advocate for change within your district.

Robert’s Rules & Parliamentary Procedure provides additional information on parliamentary procedure, helping you understand niche aspects of how board meetings should be conducted.

Nothing is more important than setting the stage for all future board meetings by setting rules on conducting board meetings; your rules supersede Robert’s Rules of Order, and can be used to expedite policy implementation.

School Board Organizational Meeting Model Policy (R) outlines how the first meeting ought to be conducted so future ones can be conducive to progress.

Meeting Minutes Best Practices (R) are the best ways to provide minutes. Anything but barebones minutes often leads to bias in them, which this policy prevents.

Identifying Curriculum That is Best for Students teaches how to pick a curriculum that is suitable to students and academically rigorous. This helps you remove politicized curriculum from your school district.

School Visitations in Your District explains school board members’ roles in surveying their district. It is important for you to be able to monitor the schools you serve, so you can be informed on the best ways to address issues arising in them.

Public Comment Time Best Practices provides model policy for public comments at meetings. It is important to hear from constituents, but you want to do so in a way that is fair and conducive to a successful, broader conversation.

Public Speaking and Public Decorum Policy are model protocols for handling public speakers, helping ensure public comments are civil and effective for speakers to address their concerns to you.

Strategic Plan / Capacity Roadmap provides helpful resources for developing a strategic plan.

Stuart Consulting Group, Hughes Consulting Group, and The Life Unleashed are recommended partners for developing strategic plans and capacity roadmaps. It is important for you to have a plan to improve your district and to be able to share it with your constituents.

Meetings have specific rules to conduct business. Here is how to go about that as chair or a minority member on your board.

Board Chair Conduct Best Practices (R) Similar to a judge in a courtroom, the chairperson controls the meeting agenda and conduct. This section explains the power of the majority and its chairperson.

Minority Member Parliamentary Procedure (R) shares tools are necessary for board members to run effective, efficient meetings. Many times the minority is left helpless to maneuver or push back against the majority. This link will provide minority members with tools to use during meetings to push or stop policies.

Superintendent is the CEO of the school district. School boards are generally elected, enacting policies overseeing the superintendent and his administration. A superintendent is sometimes elected, but usually employed by the school division, where he can be hired from other school districts, promoted with-in his school district, or some states allow boards to hire non-traditional superintendents from the private sector.

Non-Traditional Superintendent Graph shows states where superintendents outside the educational establishment can be hired. This is a great option for boards preferring legal, business, or other backgrounds other than simply education.

Evaluation Procedure and its accompanying form serve as essential tools for verifying that a superintendent is effectively meeting the needs of the community while also faithfully executing the directives set forth by the board. These resources are designed to facilitate a comprehensive assessment of the superintendent’s performance, ensuring alignment with the expectations and goals established by the governing body

Student achievement serves as a critical metric in determining the compensation of superintendents, as it reflects the effectiveness of educational leadership and the overall performance of the school district. When student outcomes, such as standardized test scores, graduation rates, and college readiness indicators, demonstrate significant improvement, it is indicative of successful strategies implemented by the superintendent.

School boards play a crucial role in the establishment and implementation of academic goal setting within educational institutions. This process involves the collaborative effort of board members, educators, and stakeholders to define clear, measurable objectives that align with the district’s vision for student achievement. By setting these academic goals, school boards not only provide a framework for evaluating educational outcomes but also foster an environment that encourages continuous improvement and accountability. The strategic planning involved in this initiative ensures that resources are allocated effectively, enabling schools to meet the diverse needs of their student populations while promoting academic excellence across the board.

School Board Self-Evaluation Worksheet The School Board Self-Evaluation Worksheet serves as a critical tool for assessing the effectiveness and performance of a school board in fulfilling its responsibilities. This worksheet typically includes a series of questions and criteria that board members can use to reflect on their governance practices, decision-making processes, and overall contributions to the educational institution. By engaging in this self-evaluation, board members can identify strengths and areas for improvement, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous development. The insights gained from this evaluation not only enhance individual board member performance but also contribute to the board’s co

The discussion on the factors contributing to the success of school boards delves into various strategies and practices that can enhance their effectiveness. It emphasizes the importance of strong leadership, community engagement, and a clear vision for educational outcomes. By fostering collaboration among stakeholders, including educators, parents, and local organizations, school boards can create a supportive environment that prioritizes student achievement. Additionally, the implementation of data-driven decision-making processes allows school boards to assess their performance and make informed adjustments to policies and programs, ultimately leading to improved educational experiences for all students.

Here Comes the Bus is designed to enhance the experience of parents and guardians by providing real-time tracking of school buses. Upon downloading the application, users can create an account and input their child’s school information, which allows the app to access relevant bus routes and schedules. The app utilizes GPS technology to monitor the location of school buses, enabling users to receive timely notifications regarding the bus’s arrival at designated stops. This feature not only alleviates the anxiety associated with waiting for the bus but also allows parents to plan their schedules more effectively.

School Maintenance Best Practices outlines how to improve a division’s maintenance department. Effective school maintenance is crucial for ensuring a safe and conducive learning environment for students and staff. Best practices in this area encompass a comprehensive approach that includes regular inspections, preventive maintenance, and timely repairs of facilities and equipment. Establishing a systematic schedule for routine checks can help identify potential issues before they escalate, thereby minimizing disruption to the educational process.

The Telework Model Policy for school employees outlines the framework and guidelines for remote work arrangements within educational institutions. This policy is designed to enhance flexibility and productivity while ensuring that the responsibilities of school staff are met effectively. It encompasses various aspects, including eligibility criteria for telework, the

process for requesting remote work, expectations regarding communication and availability, and the maintenance of data security and confidentiality.

Title IX – Transgender Model Policy Title IX has become a focal point of debate regarding the implementation of policies that address the rights of transgender individuals within educational institutions. Opposition to the Transgender Model Policy under Title IX stems from concerns about the implications such policies may have on the integrity of sex-segregated spaces, competitive fairness in athletics, and the overall educational environment.

School Choice refers to the various options available to parents and students regarding the selection of educational institutions that best meet their needs and preferences. This concept encompasses a range of alternatives, including traditional public schools, charter schools, private schools, and homeschooling. Advocates of school choice argue that it promotes competition among schools, leading to improved educational quality and outcomes, as parents are empowered to select schools that align with their values, educational philosophies, and the specific needs of their children.

Intradistrict Open Enrollment refers to a policy that allows students to enroll in schools within the same school district, rather than being restricted to their designated neighborhood school. This initiative is designed to provide families with greater flexibility and choice in selecting educational institutions that best meet their children’s needs and preferences. By permitting students to attend different schools within the district, the program aims to promote diversity, enhance educational opportunities, and foster a more competitive academic environment.

Charter Authorization & Oversight Resources refer to the frameworks and tools utilized to establish and monitor charter schools within an educational system. These resources encompass the legal and regulatory guidelines that govern the creation of charter schools, ensuring they meet specific educational standards and objectives.

Charter Authorization Standards refer to the established criteria and guidelines that govern the process of granting charters to educational institutions, particularly charter schools.

Deferring to alternative authorizers serves to mitigate potential bias in decision-making processes. By involving different entities or individuals who possess distinct perspectives and expertise, the likelihood of subjective influences affecting outcomes is significantly reduced. This approach fosters a more balanced evaluation, as it encourages the incorporation of diverse viewpoints and reduces the dominance of any single perspective.

Charter Evaluation Form serves as a critical tool for assessing the effectiveness and adherence of a charter to its intended goals and objectives. This form typically includes a series of criteria and metrics that allow evaluators to systematically analyze various aspects of the charter, such as its alignment with educational

standards, the clarity of its mission statement, and the overall performance of the institution it governs. By utilizing this form, stakeholders can gather valuable insights into the charter’s operational strengths and weaknesses, facilitating informed decision-making and potential improvements.

Streamlining and automating the process are essential strategies that contribute significantly to the success of charter schools. By optimizing workflows and implementing automated systems, these educational institutions can enhance operational efficiency, reduce administrative burdens, and allocate more resources towards student learning and engagement. This approach not only facilitates smoother day-to-day operations but also enables charter schools to respond more effectively to the dynamic educational landscape, ultimately fostering an environment where both educators and students can thrive.

School districts face increasing financial pressure from rising costs, increased competition for students, and many other factors. Budget cuts must be made with minimal impact to instruction. SBAE can help you navigate these challenges in a variety of ways:

Working with state or district resources: District budgets must be audited annually, but they do not identify significant opportunities to streamline. However, this data may be useful to gain a basic understanding of the fiscal situation. Finding District Financial Records provides additional guidance on accessing this data. This video from the Heritage Foundation and this guide [link?] from the AASA are basic primers on school budgeting

Needs assessment analyze a district’s utilization of staff and facilities to identify cost savings. This video and presentation describe this process.

Ask for specific information In your oversight role, you should ask the administration to prepare reports to facilitate budget reform. Such data can include instructional vs. non-instructional staff ratios going back 10 or more years, building occupancy rates, and academic outcomes on a spending per pupil basis. Add this information to the next board meeting agenda to begin a conversation about changes to be made.

Benchmarks: Once the best available data has been assembled, compare it to state and national benchmarks for high performing districts [resource needed].

Changing the Budget Process: Very few districts follow best practices in the budgeting process, which allows problems to grow. The administration drives the budget process, and the board will need to exercise its influence to guide them to employ these standards. These

changes typically need to be arranged in the fall for the upcoming year’s budget process.

How to manage a superintendent guide.

Creating Effective Budget Processes for Improving Student Achievement. SBAE’s partner organization in Kansas worked with a leading think tank to create two presentations on effective budgeting processes that prioritize academic achievement. [does KSBRC have a guide/handout for this – something printable to share?]

Children first budgeting [need to download Kelly’s video or link directly to it, not the whole page of them]

Procurement: Establishing effective processes for bidding out services and resources of the district can create considerable savings.

Procurement best practices [needed]

Auditing procurement processes [needed]

ESG & divestment

Budget Reform Goals arm school board members with better data and processes, realistic SMART goals can be established.

Whipping the vote requires ascertaining stakeholders’ willingness. Policy Reform Playbook generates printable PDFs to their answers.

Enlisting outside help is necessary if existing district resources are incapable of reform.

Georgetown University’s Edunomics department, led by Dr. Marguerite Roza, is a national leader in school district finances. Their training includes free, brief webinars, weeklong trainings, and multi-year certificate programs.

School board members can view Edunomics’ intermediate four-part lecture series and slide decks. This information will instantly make you the best informed person on your board, regarding budgeting. Administrators and CFOs also can be directed to review these videos and report to the board on how they will implement the recommended changes.

Forensics & Performance Audits: The great majority of increased educational spending has gone to administrative bloat (see helpful studies below [link]), but administrators rarely offer to cut district bureaucracy or sell real assets of their own volition. An outside audit can provide the impetus to make needed cuts and deeper expertise. These audits are different from the internal or annual audits already being done and will look for mismanagement of funds (forensic), and a performance audit is testing the effectiveness and efficiency of each department.

Professional auditors can be retained by the district to identify cost savings, but they must be given explicit instruction to do so. Refer to your district’s SMART financial goals to inform the audit (see above).

Model Policy, board colleagues, and buy-in is what budgetary reform depends

Standards for financial transparency (ALEC): Financial transparency enjoys broad public support and is difficult for opponents to argue against. Transparency is not a budget cut, but it opens up records and processes to scrutiny, which can expose data that influences change.

Resolution to perform outside audit [needed]: The board can retain an outside financial auditor and direct them to identify cuts necessary to meet the SMART goal identified earlier, while minimizing impact on academic outcomes by passing this resolution.

Resolution to pool resources [needed]: many districts have underutilized resources and infrastructure that could be shared across districts or rented out to other users. Examples may include occasional-use maintenance equipment or a playing field. This resolution requires the administration to work with other districts and potential users to share and rent out resources.

Resolution to pool resources [needed]: many districts have underutilized resources and infrastructure that could be shared across districts or rented out to other users. Examples may include occasional-use maintenance equipment or a playing field. This resolution requires the administration to work with other districts and potential users to share and rent out resources.

Surplus School Items Transparency – Model Policy (R): When deeper reforms prove impossible, taking a piecemeal approach can help to build consensus around an issue and show progress to constituents. This policy establishes processes to sell off underutilized equipment.

Overcoming Objections is vital to implementing reform. Here are rebuttals to frequent objections:

1. Teachers deserve higher pay.
   1. Teachers are deserving, hard workers; that is why cuts with minimal impact on instructional staff are necessary. Despite education spending increasing, teacher salaries are decreasing (Reason Foundation)
2. Teacher salaries and benefits are our largest expense, so cutting administrative staff insufficiently addresses budget concerns.
   1. Notwithstanding, school administration costs grew 10x more than teacher costs.
3. School closures adversely affect communities.
   1. Although I agree with schools’ roles in the local community, serious budget shortfalls adversely impact academic outcomes. Moreover, our infrastructure needs change as our demographics do.

Public Relations is necessary to apply pressure on recalcitrants. SBAE discreetly enlists friendly media sources in these cases.

Ballotpedia

Incentive with prizes/awards

Parental Bill of Rights in education serves as a framework designed to empower parents and guardians by affirming their fundamental rights concerning their children’s education. This policy typically outlines the rights of parents to access information about their child’s academic progress, participate in educational decision-making, and be informed about the curriculum and any assessments that their child will undergo.

Curriculum & Materials Transparency

Bringing Transparency to Your District involves implementing practices and policies that foster open communication and accountability among all stakeholders, including administrators, teachers, parents, and students. This process can be achieved by establishing clear channels for sharing information regarding decision-making, budgeting, and educational outcomes. Regularly scheduled meetings, accessible reports, and the use of digital platforms can facilitate the dissemination of pertinent information, allowing community members to engage meaningfully with the district’s operations.

Parent and Public Access to Curriculum refers to the ability of parents and community members to review and understand the educational materials and content being taught in schools. This access is crucial for fostering transparency and accountability within the educational system, as it allows stakeholders to engage with the curriculum and provide feedback or express concerns regarding its appropriateness and relevance. Schools often implement policies that facilitate this access, which may include open houses, curriculum nights, and online portals where parents can view lesson plans and educational resources. By ensuring that parents and the public can access and comprehend the curriculum, educational institutions promote a collaborative environment that supports student learning and aligns educational objectives with community values and expectations.

Library Material Transparency refers to the clear and open communication regarding the resources and materials available within a school library. This concept emphasizes the importance of making information about the library’s collection accessible to students, parents, and educators, thereby fostering an environment of trust and accountability. Transparency in this context involves providing detailed descriptions of the materials, including their educational value, relevance to the curriculum, and the criteria used for their selection.

Curriculum Transparency helps  parents engage fully in their child’s education requires opening the school door so parents and any concerned citizens are able to know what is being taught in schools. That includes letting people see what learning materials are being used, as well as what educational activities are taking place.

Curriculum Audit Policy model policy refers to a systematic evaluation framework designed to assess the effectiveness and relevance of educational programs within an institution. This policy aims to ensure that the curriculum aligns with the institution’s educational objectives, meets the needs of students, and adheres to accreditation standards. The audit process typically involves a comprehensive review of course content, teaching methodologies, assessment strategies, and overall program outcomes.

Curriculum Analysis Services from SBAE

Library Books & Media Transparency

1. Material selection & review (VA model policy in One Drive)
2. World Library Association
   1. Model policies comport with community standards enabling libraries to become truly useful for everyone in the community and empowering librarians to ensure they work in a safe working environment.
3. FAIR in Libraries
   1. FAIR in Libraries is a nonpartisan professional network dedicated to advancing a culture of fairness, understanding, and humanity in libraries.
4. Book Looks
   1. Find out what objectionable content may be in a book. Write and collect detailed and easy to understand book content reviews centered around objectionable content, including profanity, nudity, and sexual content. Our goal is to make these reviews available to all parents so they can make informed decisions.
5. Commonsense Media
   1. Rating system for media. Since 2003, Common Sense has been the leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools. Every day, millions of parents and educators trust Common Sense reviews and advice to help them navigate the digital world with their kids. Together with policymakers, industry leaders, and global media partners, we’re building a digital world that works better for all kids, their families, and their communities.
6. Take Back the Classroom
   1. Resource for reporting and knowing sexually explicit books.
7. Reverse Search: Book Resumes
   1. A collection of books that probably should not be in school libraries.

Parental Option/Optout Sexually Exp Books Model Policy

Template for Vaccine Exemption Personal-Religious

School closures may be beneficial if done right

How School Boards Can Hire Better Teachers provides alternative sources and avenues for certifying and training teachers.

1. Religious Belief Protection provides resources for protecting religious freedom in one’s school district.
2. Speech Protection provides resources for protecting speech in one’s district.

Pension Reform: INcentivize DC vs DB, early retirement.

At minimum, a school district’s curriculum should be content rich and high quality. With a strong governing majority, school boards can go a step further and adopt a curriculum based on cultural literacy or classical education (defined int he sections below). School boards have the governance authority to direct administrators to adopt these standards, and they have the oversight authority to make sure they are implemented correctly. SBAE can help school board members at every step in that process.

These studies will support your arguments that the curriculum needs to be looked at more closely, documenting the problems with our current curricula, as well as the guiding principles for creating better ones.

School board members cannot ultimately implement the reforms they pass. Instead the superintendent manages the process through district staff and the coaching and oversight of classroom teachers. School board members must, however, remain diligent after passing reforms by requesting and reviewing evidence of faithful policy implementation.

Despite curriculum being the ultimate decision of school boards, most boards do not have access to the curriculum or even a list of what is provided by subject and grade level. The first step is to find out what students are learning.

Ask for specific information: In your oversight role, you should ask the administration for three things:

• Comprehensive list of all instructional resources made available to district teachers, including board-approved, optional, or supplemental instructional materials
• Access to all instructional materials
• Access to the curriculum management system and lesson plan drives

A curriculum audit identifies areas of strength and opportunities for improvement in district curricula and instructional materials. It checks for gaps in content, inconsistencies in the scope and sequence, and materials that are not age-appropriate or ideologically-neutral.

1. Curriculum Audit Policy sets expectations for the transparent review of instructional practices and what students are learning.
2. Curriculum Analysis Services from SBAE can help school boards review or audit their curriculum for free or at a discount. Review this flyer to learn more about the program and how to contact us.
3. Effective Messaging talking points will help you overcome objections to curricular reform by pointing out the school board’s proper oversight role, the importance of curriculum to student outcomes, and the principles that should guide reform. There are separate arguments for conversations with persuadable moderates and radical opponents, presented in an apolitical and non-partisan manner.

Curriculum adoption: Almost every state vest school boards with final authority to review and select the curriculum and instructional materials used in their schools. However, almost all school boards have forfeited this responsibility and merely rubber-stamp curriculum chosen by administrators. Here’s how school boards reassume their legal authority over curriculum.

• Curriculum Adoption Policy established rules to put the school board in control of curriculum and establishes guardrails for the use of high quality instructional materials.
• Effective Messaging

Documenting curriculum: The board should establish clear expectations = for ensuring all curricula are effectively documented and readily available to board members and parents.

• Curriculum Documentation and Transparency Policy 
• Effective Messaging
• Curriculum Documentation Resources including platforms for curriculum management and lesson plan management. Subject-specific policies

Literacy curricula should adhere to the science of reading (explicit, systematic, and synthetic phonics combined with knowledge-rich curriculum) and be free from practices that have been shown to hinder or harm student literacy (whole-word, whole-language, balanced literacy, three-cueing, basal and leveled readers, an outsized focus on reading comprehension strategies).

The purpose of literature in English Language Arts class is to teach students to read excellent writing on meaningful topics and to do so in abundance. Instead, students are reading less than ever in school. What reading does take place is limited to nonfiction articles on social issues or short young adult books.

Writing is necessary to foster language development and critical thinking and expression. “How to write well” should be taught in English Langue Arts class and practiced not only in ELA but also in social studies and science. In reality, students are rarely expected to write at all. Good grammar, accurate spelling, and the building of sentences, paragraphs, and essays should progress through the grade levels. Writing topics should engage with the literature, historical events, and scientific processes instead of how something feels to the student, what their favorite thing is, or online research

Math is usually taught through the fads of “thinking classrooms” and “inquiry-based” learning. But math curricula should be teacher-led, explaining how to solve a problem, demonstrating it for students, and then allowing students ample guided practice. This includes frequent checks for understanding, re-teaching challenging areas or errors, and discussion to understand why a problem works the way it does. Students should engage with mathematical concepts by moving from manipulation of real items to working with pictorial representations of those items to solving equations that represent the underlying realities. They should then be expected to practice and readily recall their math facts for long-term recall and high-order thinking.

Knowledge of American and western ideas, founding principles, civic duty, and history were the special purpose of public education. Unfortunately, American students know less about their country than any other generation while being subject to partisan activism under the guise of “action civics.” Social studies curricula should be exceptionally content-rich, focusing on the biographies of great individuals and furnishing students with a store of great stories from the past. Students should know places and dates, causes and effects. Students should engage with primary sources and know by heart famous sayings and documents.

Knowledge of human anatomy and biology are rightful topics to be taught in school, while healthy care for the body and the ethical implications that follow from such instruction is the exclusive right of parents. If offered, schools should require parents to opt their children into lessons on care for the body on topics of sex, vaccines, and pharmaceuticals. Real character or virtue programs focus on the equal human dignity of each person and teachers students to treat each other as they would want to be treated. It encourages them to take responsibility for their own actions and ignore accidental features such as skin color and gender identity when treating another person fairly.

Although the core subjects of English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Math should be required for all four years of high school, electives should provide ample opportunity for students to practice and acquire skills in specific technical trades as an alternative or supplement to college. These trades should allow students to acquire certifications or credits towards certification and engage local businesses and skilled tradespersons in the training and work.

Science should be the realm of careful observation and the honing of the skill of attending to the natural world. It should be able to distinguish between laws and theories and to examine competing sets of evidence. And it should allow students to conduct efficient, highly- focused experiments in service of this study.

Physical education classes should reflect the development of the body in childhood and adolescence and promote a healthy, active lifestyle. Moderate strength-training through real-world scenarios and the meaningful practice of teamwork and cooperation build upstanding young men and women capable of taking care of their bodies and themselves.

Art and music are important for understanding and preserving a shared American culture and to cultivate good habits and respect in students. Unfortunately, these subjects are oftentimes overlooked and ineffectively  structured. Art and music classes should balance observation and discussion of great works of art and music in history, the learning of art and music theory, and the actual practice of art and music by students themselves.

SEL is pitched under the guise of developing respectful ways for students to treat others or as character education. What is actually looks like is students being asked about problems at home with their parents, always permitting a student’s behavior or view in order to not make them feel sad or bad about themselves, and using skin color, class, and gender identity rank students and how they should treat one another. It also cultivates a disdain for people from the past and encourages students to form judgements on everybody. Additionally, SEL exercises and components often take up time in literacy block, social studies block, or “morning meeting time.

Almost no k-12 schools in America will call it this or teach students directly how view everything in terms of race as a set lesson or exercise, but this method of thinking about and forming judgments on people, history, literature, and government is pervasive in certain books and ways of teaching.

The push to include ethnic studies as part of curriculum elevates racial and ethnic identity as a way students should view history, literature, and their classmates, with an implied superiority of certain cultures and ethnicities. Instead, schools should teach how the rich contributions from different cultures find a shared culture in the American tradition of free self-government resting on the inherent equal dignity of human beings.

1. School Guardian Program
2. Violence Zero Tolerance
3. Internet Safety
4. School Security provides policy recommendations on improving school safety.
5. Bathroom Use

1. Prohibit Restorative Justice
2. Nondiscrimination model policy provides a model policy preventing racial discrimination in one’s school district.
3. Free Playtime
4. Absenteeism
5. Peer Reviewed Article- Family Engagement impact on Chronic Absenteeism shows how engaging families reduces chronic absenteeism.
6. Peer Reviewed Article- Chronic Absenteeism: Strategies and Resources to Improve Attendance: provides a helpful guide on improving attendance in one’s school district.

1. Graduation Requirements
2. Career and Technical Pathways to Graduation
3. College Entry or Vocational Licensing Goals

1. The following are Student-led Organizations:
   1. Patriotic Students of America
   2. First Priority of America
   3. Students Standing Strong
   4. Fellowship of Christian Athletes
   5. Discourse Clubs
2. Principles of instruction on religion (see VA model policy in One Drive)
3. Prohibition on surveying students’ political, religious, gender, or sexual preferences

1. District Scorecard provides an example for what a district scorecard looks like.
2. District Snapshot  provides an example for what a district snapshot should look like.
3. State Assessment Snapshot  provides an example for what a state assessment snapshot should look like.
4. Education Consumers Reading Scores by School shows how well one’s school district teaches children to read.

1. Engage to Win 6 principles guide  provides persuasion tips.
2. 7 Figure Fundraising trainings (R)
3. NSBLC Videos:
   1. Combatting Opposition and False Narratives
   2. What to Do with False Narratives
   3. Speaking to Your Constituents and Messaging
4. National Grassroots Organizations
5. Report Policy Change Webform