The speaker presents the steps to be followed in creating a systematized and up-to-date district manual of board policies and administrative rules. The process was developed by the National School Boards Association's Educational Policies Service. Included are the eight performance objectives identified as stepping stones to the manual, the five…

To help local school officials implement the federal Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981, this handbook offers a step-by-step walk through the new law and presents recommendations for local policies concerning the law. ECIA replaces most categorical programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act with block grants…

Using the experiences of individual school districts, such as the Yonkers (New York) Public Schools, the author provides advice on how a board should carry out a reduction in force (RIF). She stresses the need to develop a written RIF policy and recommends involving staff and the community in the policy development process. Issues the policy…

When problems arose among parents and religious groups over the observance of religious holidays in schools, the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) school board appointed an ad hoc study committee to investigate the issue and make recommendations. The committee represented parents and local businesses and government as well as many local churches and religious…

Teacher absenteeism is a growing problem, according to this short guide on reducing absenteeism. The author briefly reviews the research data on absenteeism from national, state, and district sources. She lists the average costs of teacher substitution by district size and the characteristics of both districts and teachers with bad absence…

School systems, by and large, are hesitating in integrating new technology into the educational process. The new technology includes computers, telecommunications, electronic blackboards, interactive video for simulations, editing devices, and the new optical storage disk, the CD/ROM. Many believe the new technology can help to address such…