Types of documents found in the board policy manual

Viewing policies

Using mobile devices

Finding policies

Adoption date vs. "Date Issued"

Editing policies

Sample policies and drafts

Who should I contact with a question not covered here?


Types of documents found in the board policy manual

A board policy manual contains up to four types of documents at any given code. Not every code will have every type of document.

  • LEGAL policies compile federal law, state law, and court decisions, providing the statutory context in which all other policies should be read.
  • LOCAL policies reflect decisions made by the board of trustees.
  • REGULATION documents are administrative procedures that implement board policies.
  • EXHIBIT documents may contain forms, charts, and other kinds of supporting information.

Viewing policies

Policy documents are delivered as HTML, PDF and Word (DOCX) files. How these files are displayed will depend on the configuration of your Web browser, operating system, and any other software you may be using to open documents.

HTML is the most accessible and responsive of the three formats.

Unless your Web browser or operating system includes a built-in application for viewing PDF and Word documents, you'll need to install a third-party application such as Adobe Readeropens new window (for PDFs) or Microsoft Word (for DOCX).

If you don't have Microsoft Office for viewing Word documents, there are other options. For users of Windows, Microsoft offers a free Word Vieweropens new window and Compatibility Packopens new window for reading and printing Word documents. Both must be installed to read a Word 2007 (DOCX) file in the absence of Microsoft Office.

Other word processors may open Office documents, but the policy formatting might be displayed incorrectly.

Using mobile devices

Policy On Line® has been tested with a variety of mobile devices and appears to work normally in modern mobile browsers. Some older browsers, however, are known to work poorly (particularly the original Android browser). Opera Mobile is a good choice for viewing Policy On Line on an older device.

  • HTML. HTML policies will open in a new tab and adjust to fit the size and orientation of your screen.
  • PDF files. Sometimes a policy PDF does not open with a normal tap. However, in other browsers tested you can still download and open the policy by long-pressing the PDF icon and selecting "Save Link" from the pop-up menu.
  • Word documents. The Word documents available in Policy On Line contain advanced formatting that may not render well in a mobile context.

Finding policies

There are four tools for navigating the online policy manual: search, go to a policy code directly, browse the sections' tables of contents, and browse the topic index.

To return to the home page just click anywhere in the header.

Search

You can search through all the documents in your policy manual by typing a word or phrase into the search field and clicking the search button. Policy On Line will return a list of documents containing the word or phrase.

To search within a policy you are already viewing: press CTRL+F.

Advanced search

Advanced search lets you build a complex query and then filter the results according to what types of document you want to see.

Complex queries can be built manually, too, by using the following syntax:

  • Find exactly this phrase: "keyword1 keyword2"
  • Find all of these words: (keyword1 AND keyword2 AND keyword3)
  • Find any of these words: (keyword1 OR keyword2 OR keyword3)
  • Find none of these words: -keyword1 -keyword2

Go to policy code

This tool allows you to jump straight to a policy code: just enter the code (for example, "DEC") and click the button. You will see a list of all the documents available at that code, along with a glossary explaining what each type of document is.

Browse sections

Click a section to see its table of contents.

Browse topic index

The topic index is an alphabetically arranged index of the policy manual. Click a letter to view the topics beginning with that letter. Hover your mouse over a linked policy code to see the title and subtitle of that code.

When looking at the index you may notice that some codes are shown as hyperlinks while others are not. The unlinked codes exist in TASB's organization scheme but are not present in the manual being viewed. Not all manuals contain all codes.

Adoption date vs. "Date Issued"

To look up the adoption date of a policy, contact the superintendent, president, chancellor, or executive director of the institution in question. The adoption date will be marked on the official copy of the policy manual maintained by that administrator, or it will be found in the board meeting minutes.

"Date Issued" is not an adoption date; it is a TASB record-keeping device.

Editing policies

For detailed information about editing a policy in Word using TASB standard styles and formatting, please watch the tutorialsopens new window found in the Policy Service Resource Library.

Sample policies and drafts

Membership in TASB Policy Service entitles a school district, community college, or education service center to receive personalized help from a dedicated policy consultant whose job includes researching and drafting sample policy language. To find the consultant assigned to you, please log in to your Policy On Line administrator account via myTASB.

Who should I contact with a question not covered here?

Individuals with questions about a policy, regulation, or exhibit should contact their superintendent, chief executive officer, or executive director as appropriate.

Administrators with questions should call TASB Policy Service at 800-580-7529. Questions about policy language should be directed to your policy consultant. For technical help, ask for Policy On Line support or e-mail pol-support@tasb.orgopens new window.