School Board

Authority

The policies and procedures adopted by the Board establish the general parameters within which the daily operations of the school district are to be governed. Administrative regulations for carrying out and implementing Board policies are developed and implemented by the administration, under the direction of the Superintendent. As applicable, all members of the school community are expected to comply with both Board policy and administrative regulations, subject to stated limitations and exceptions. However, failure of the Board or the administration to comply with policy or procedure shall not invalidate any lawful action taken.[1][2]

Contents

The policies of the Board shall consist of the policies and procedures adopted by the Board and contained in the Policy Manual, and such other separate documents approved by the Board that are expressly incorporated by reference in particular policies and declared to constitute Board policy, such as the Code of Student Conduct.

Administrative regulations are not part of Board policy and may be altered by the administration without Board action. Administrative regulations may not conflict with Board policy or with applicable law.

Limitations

All Board policies and administrative regulations shall be interpreted and administered in a lawful manner. The Board shall make the final interpretation of its policies, and the administration shall make the final interpretation of its regulations.

Board policies and procedures and administrative regulations are limited by legal constraints, as are the rights of those to whom Board policies and administrative regulations apply, and are not intended to give an individual a cause of action not independently established in law.

Rules of Construction

In ascertaining the intent of the Board in adopting a policy or procedure, or of the administration in establishing a regulation, the following presumptions, among other legally applicable presumptions, may be used:

1. That neither the Board nor the administration intends a result that is absurd, impossible of execution, or unreasonable.
    
2. That neither the Board nor the administration intends to violate federal or state Constitutions or any other applicable law.

If any policy or procedure or administrative regulation can be given multiple interpretations, the Board and the administration intend that only constitutional and lawful interpretations shall be valid, and that neither an unconstitutional nor an unlawful interpretation was intended.

Policy and Footnotes

Authority

The authority to establish, equip, furnish, operate and maintain the public schools of Boyertown Area School District is vested in the Board of School Directors, which is a body corporate and is constituted and governed by Title 24 of the Pennsylvania Statutes, the Public School Code of 1949 as amended, Article III of the Pennsylvania Constitution and applicable federal and state laws and regulations.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Powers

The Board shall establish such schools as are required for the education of every student residing in Boyertown Area School District between the ages of six (6) and twenty-one (21) years who may attend school; shall equip, furnish, operate, and maintain the schools; shall adopt and enforce rules and regulations for the management of school affairs and the conduct and deportment of employees and students; and shall levy and collect taxes as may be necessary, in addition to the annual state appropriation, for the exercise of aforesaid powers.[2][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

The Board shall act as the general agent of the residents of the school district in matters of public education. It shall establish educational goals and academic standards for district schools and govern an educational program designed to meet those goals and standards and to support student achievement. The Board shall be responsible for establishing, maintaining and evaluating the educational programs in district schools, and for enforcing mandatory laws and regulations.[3]^[16][17]

The Board, in accordance with its statutory mandate, shall adopt Board procedures for its own operation, and policies for the guidance of the Superintendent in the operation of the school district. Board procedures and policies shall be consistent with law, have a rational and substantial relationship to a legitimate purpose of the Board, and be directed towards the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education in this district.[9]^[18]

The powers of the Board of School Directors are not vested in the individual Board member. No such individual is authorized to act on behalf of the Board to carry out any of the Board's authorized powers, except for those acts stated in law.[3]

Policy and Footnotes