Policies are established by the School Board to ensure that Bloomington Public Schools responds to its mission and operates in an effective, efficient, and consistent manner. Policies define the desire and intent of the School Board.
The School Board has the jurisdiction to legislate policy for the School District with the force and effect of law. School Board policy provides the general direction as to what the School Board wishes to accomplish while delegating implementation of policy to the administration. A regulation contains administration's guidelines for the operational implementation of the respective Board policy.
Contact
Kimsure P. Lofton
Executive Assistant to the Superintendent and School Board
952-681-6402
klofton@isd271.org
100 Policies: School District
102: Equal Educational Opportunity
To ensure that equal educational opportunity is provided for all students of the District.
200 Policies: Board of Directors
201: Legal Status of the School Board
To carry out the mission of the school district, this policy is to define the authority, powers, duties, and responsibilities of the school board in carrying out its mission.
202: School Board Officers
To establish the election process, terms of office, and responsibilities for School Board officers.
202.1: School Board Student Representatives
To establish the role of School Board student representatives.
203: School Board Meetings
To ensure that School Board meetings (and study sessions) are conducted in an orderly fashion that allows School Board members to participate in discussion and act upon district matters to accomplish the mission of the Bloomington Public Schools.
208: School Board Policies
To define how the School Board fulfills its responsibility of establishing and maintaining School Board Policies.
208.1: Regulations
To establish a process for formulating, updating and deleting regulations.
209: School Board Member Code of Ethics
To assist the individual school board member in understanding their role as part of a school board and in recognizing the contribution that each member must make to develop an effective and responsible school board.
209.1: Addressing School Board Member Violations
To identify the process for addressing willful or continuing policy violations by Board members.
212: School Board Member Development
To recognize the need for continuing in-service training and development for its members, this policy is to encourage the members of the School Board to participate in professional development activities designed for them.
214: Out of State Travel by School Board Members
To control out-of-state travel by School Board members as required by law.
300 Policies: Administration
302: Superintendent
To recognize the importance of the role of the Superintendent and the overall responsibility of that position within the district.
303: Superintendent Selection
To convey to the school community that the authority to select and employ a superintendent is vested in the School Board.
306: Administrator Code of Ethics
To establish the requirements of the School Board that school administrators adhere to the standards of ethics and professional conduct in this policy and Minnesota law.
400 Policies: Personnel
401: Equal Employment Opportunity
To provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants for District employment and District employees.
402: Disability Nondiscrimination
To provide a fair employment setting for all persons and to comply with state and federal law.
406: Public and Private Personnel Data
To provide guidance to the data the district collects and maintains regarding its personnel.
407: Environmental Health and Safety Standards
To provide a healthy and safe environment for students, staff and the public.
408: Subpoena of a School District Employee
To protect the privacy rights of school district employees and students under both state and federal law when requested to testify or provide educational records for a judicial or administrative proceeding.
410: Family and Medical Leave
To ensure compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and the Minnesota parenting leave law.
412: Expense Reimbursement
To provide a system for reimbursing employees for qualifying business expenses.
413: Harassment and Violence
To maintain a learning and working environment free from harassment, unlawful discrimination, and violence on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, familial status, and more.
414: Mandated Reporting of Child Neglect or Physical or Sexual Abuse
To make clear the statutory requirements of school personnel and ensure required reporting of suspected child neglect or physical or sexual abuse.
415: Mandated Reporting of Suspected Maltreatment of Vulnerable Adults
To make clear the statutory requirements of school personnel to report suspected maltreatment of vulnerable adults.
416: Drug and Alcohol Testing
To provide authority so that the School Board may require all employees and/or job applicants to submit to drug and alcohol testing in accordance with the provisions of this policy and as provided in federal and state law.
417: Chemical Use & Abuse
To assist the district in its goal to prevent chemical use and abuse by providing procedures for education and intervention.
418: Drug Free Workplace Drug Free School
To maintain a safe and healthful environment for staff and students by prohibiting the use of alcohol, toxic substances, and controlled substances without a physician’s prescription.
419: Tobacco-Free Environment
To maintain a learning and working environment that is free of tobacco, tobacco-related devices and electronic delivery devices.
420: Communicable Disease
To adopt measures to effectively respond to health concerns while respecting the rights of all students, employees, and contractors, including those who are so infected.
423: Staff-Student Relationships
To maintain an educational environment in which all students are treated with respect and dignity. District staff are to provide students with appropriate guidance, understanding and direction.
424: License Status
To ensure that qualified teachers are employed by the district and to fulfill its duty to ascertain the licensure status of its teachers.
426: Nepotism In Employment
To establish consistent employment guidelines and to prevent situations where an individual may have or be perceived to have unfair influence over the career development, work assignments, work direction, performance reviews, or compensation of family.
427: Workload Limits for Certain Special Education Teachers
To establish general parameters for determining the workload limits of special education staff.
430: Student Teachers
To assist in the preparation of future teachers, the District will ensure a process is conducted in a manner that benefits Bloomington students.
440: Staff-Gender Inclusion
To facilitate compliance with applicable laws and organizational guidelines as well as to foster an educational environment that is safe, supportive and inclusive for all staff.
450: Professional Staff Development
To establish opportunities for professional development of the staff that advances their ability to work effectively with students via local, state, and federal standards.
452: Jury Duty
To ensure district employees who are summoned for jury service will be paid their regular basic wages contingent upon the employee remitting to the district the compensation for jury duty services.
457: Respectful and Professional Workplace
To ensure employees are not subjected to disrespectful and unprofessional behavior, threats or acts of physical or verbal harassment, violence or harm or disruptive conduct that causes others to feel unsafe.
458: Employee Use of Social Media
To address the use of social media by District personnel both personally and professionally.
500 Policies: Students
501: Weapon-Free Schools
To assure a safe school environment for students, staff and the public.
502: Search of Student Lockers, Desks, Personal Possessions and Student's Person
To provide for a safe and healthful educational environment by enforcing the district’s policies against contraband.
503: Student Attendance
To positively encourage regular school attendance and ensure compliance with the Minnesota Compulsory Instruction Law.
503.1: School Attendance Areas
To ensure each operating school provides optimal educational opportunities for all students and appropriate use of facilities and staff. Students shall be assigned to schools according to attendance areas approved by the School Board.
503.3: Early Admission
To facilitate to the fullest extent possible the development of underage children with unusually high ability.
506: Student Discipline
To ensure the District establish a Code of Student Conduct and disciplinary action options that minimize loss of student instruction time due to misbehavior, and to ensure that students are aware of and comply with the District ‘s Code of Student Conduct.
509: Enrollment of Nonresident Students
To set forth the application and exclusion procedures used by the District to ensure compliance with the Enrollment Options Program established by Minn. Stat. § 124D.03.
510: Student Activities
To provide guidance and differentiation for student activities.
510.1: Student Eligibility in Activities
To provide a uniform body of rules from which school coaches and administrators will certify a student’s eligibility.
510.2: School or District-Sponsored Events
To ensure no use of alcohol by attendees at school or district-sponsored events, such as student banquets or celebrations outside school.
510.3: Activities & Other Student Fees
To provide direction on how the School Board will govern the District’s student activity fee program.
510.4: Participation of Non-enrolled Students in Bloomington Public Schools Activities
To provide guidance for administrators, staff, parents and guardians regarding children who are not enrolled in Bloomington Public Schools and seek to participate in Bloomington Public Schools activities.
510.5: Shared Time Students
To address non-public or homeschooled students who are enrolled part-time in Independent School District 271.
510.6: Addition/Elimination of Activities
To provide guidelines for the addition and elimination of activities.
513: Student Promotion, Retention, and Program Design
To provide guidance to professional staff, parents, and students regarding student promotion, retention and program design.
513.1: Granting Credits
To provide regulations to assure consistent district practice of the granting of credits and standards and to provide the philosophical basis for developing those regulations.
514: Bullying Prohibition
To ensure a system is in place to prevent and respond to acts of bullying, intimidation, violence, reprisal, retaliation, and other similar disruptive and detrimental behavior.
515: Protection and Privacy of Student Records
To collect, maintain and disseminate pupil records and protect the privacy rights of students as provided in federal law and state statutes.
515.1: Administration Procedures for Research
To provide guidelines for individuals and/or organizations that wish to conduct educational research in the district.
515.2: Student Surveys Used for Research
To establish the parameters of information that may be sought in student surveys for educational research.
515.3 Student Research
To provide guidelines for students who wish to conduct research within the District.
516: Student Medication, Medical Treatment or Procedures
To set forth the requirements that must be followed when administering medication and performing medical treatments or procedures to students at school.
518: Do Not Resuscitate/Do Not Intubate (DNR/DNI) Orders
To provide guidance to district staff and parents or guardians in situations involving students with complex health needs.
519: Interviews of Students by Outside Agencies
To establish the procedures for access to students by authorized individuals during the school day.
521: Student Disability Nondiscrimination
To protect students with disabilities from discrimination and to provide for the identification and evaluation of students who need special services, accommodations or programs.
522: Title IX Sex Nondiscrimination Policy, Grievance Procedure and Process
To provide an equal educational opportunity for all students and staff and to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex or sexual orientation pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the MN Human Rights Act.
524: Internet, Technology and Cell Phone Acceptable Use and Safety
To set forth policies and guidelines for access to the district computer system and acceptable and safe use of the Internet, including electronic communications.
526: Hazing Prohibition
To maintain a safe learning environment for students and staff that are free from Hazing. Hazing activities of any type are inconsistent with the educational goals of the District and are prohibited at all times.
529: Staff Notification of Violent Behavior by Students
To address the circumstances in which data should be provided to classroom teachers and other school staff members about students with a history of violent behavior.
531: The Pledge of Allegiance
To recognize the need to display an appropriate United States flag and to provide instruction to students in the proper etiquette, display and respect for the flag.
533: Wellness
To set forth methods to promote student wellness and promote students' health, well-being and ability to learn by encouraging healthy eating and physical activity.
534: School Meal Policy
To ensure that students receive healthy and nutritious meals through the school district’s nutrition program and that the District employees, families, and students have a shared understanding of expectations regarding meal charges.
540: Student-Gender Inclusion
To facilitate compliance with applicable laws and organizational guidelines as well as to foster an educational environment that is safe, supportive and inclusive for all students.
542: Legal Name
To set requirements for the legal name of a child enrolled in our district.
543: School Day Pick-up and Drop-off of Students
To ensure students are safely and appropriately picked up or dropped off during the school day.
545: Student Rights
To highlight information pertaining to student rights.
550: Student Handbooks
To protect and enhance students’ educational experiences, and to ensure student handbooks are updated and distributed annually and contain essential information that informs students of key provisions of the policies.
600 Policies: Education Program
601.1: Graduation Requirements
To ensure that the district shall proceed efficiently with the implementation of the state and local graduation requirements, including the expectation that all learners are career and college ready.
603: Curriculum Development
To provide direction for continuous review and improvement of the District’s curriculum.
606: Instructional Materials Selection
To provide direction for selection of instructional materials.
606.1: Procedures for Handling Questioned Materials and Controversial Issues in Curriculum and Instruction
To provide direction in handling questioned materials and controversial issues in schools.
606.5 Library Materials
To provide direction and delegate responsibility for selection and reconsideration of library materials.
609: Religion in the Schools
To identify the status of religion in the curriculum, environment and calendar of Bloomington Public Schools.
610: Field Trips
To provide guidelines for student trips and to identify the general process to be followed for review and approval of trip requests.
612.1: Development of Parent and Family Engagement Policies for Title I Programs
To encourage and facilitate involvement by parents of students who live within the district boundaries participating in Title I educational programs and experiences of students or decisions about the Title I services.
616: School District System Accountability
To focus public education strategies on a process that promotes high academic achievement for all students and ensures community participation in decisions regarding the implementation of the Minnesota Academic Standards.
620: Credit for Learning
To recognize student achievement through postsecondary enrollment options, other advanced enrichment programs and out-of-district online learning programs.
620.1: College Level Courses Grade Weighting
To provide guidelines for grade weighting in the district.
630: International Student Exchange Program
To establish guidelines for high schools to apply in accepting foreign exchange students.
700 Policies: Non-Instructional Operations
701: Budget Process
To provide direction for the development and the sharing of an annual budget.
701.3: Fund Balance
To establish minimum fund balance levels and to ensure that fund balances are maintained and accounted for in accordance with the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
702: Accounting
To provide direction for financial control, the control and use of assets, the use of staff personal property to conduct district business, and conducting business on district property.
705: Investment of School District Funds
To establish guidelines for the investment of the district funds and how income from those investments will be allocated.
706: Donations
To ensure proper handling of donations (gifts, bequests and donations).
707: Transportation
To provide guidelines for a safe and effective transportation system.
720: Vending Machines
To govern vending machines installed in district facilities.
721: Uniform Grant Guidance Policy Regarding Federal Revenue Sources
To ensure compliance with the requirements of the federal Uniform Grant Guidance regulations by establishing uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements for federal grant awards received by the school district.
721.1: Grants
To ensure that the School Board approves commitments related to grant awards.
722: Public Data Requests
To recognize the district's responsibility relative to the collection, maintenance and dissemination of public data as provided in state statutes.
725: Tuition
To provide procedures for charging tuition fees to non-resident students who are not accessing the options under Minnesota choice programs.
726: Consultant Services
To limit the risk of conflicts of interest between our contracted consultants and the development of requests for proposals.
730: Memorials
To provide uniform guidelines for memorials.
800 Policies: Buildings & Sites
801: Student Equal Access to School Facilities
To implement the Equal Access Act by granting equal access to school facilities for students who wish to conduct a meeting for religious, political or philosophical purposes during non-instructional time.
806: District Crisis Management
To establish a comprehensive district-wide Emergency Operations and Recovery Plan (EORP) and building-level safety plans.
899: Service Animals and Therapy Dogs in Schools
To establish procedures for the use of service animals and therapy dogs by students, employees, and visitors within school buildings and on school property, on school buses or at school activities.
900 Policies: School/Community Relations
902: Use of District Facilities
To provide guidance for the use of district facilities by school organizations, the city, community agencies/organizations, businesses and citizens.
903: Visitors to School District Buildings and Sites
To inform the school community and the general public of the position of the School Board on visitors to school buildings and other school property.
904: Distribution of Materials on School District Property by Non-School Persons
To set requirements for the distribution of materials by non-school persons and organizations on school district property.
904.1: Distribution of Non-Curricular Materials by Students
To protect the exercise of students’ free speech rights, taking into consideration the educational objectives and responsibilities of the district.
905: Advertising
To provide guidelines for the advertising or promoting of products or services to students, parents and the community at school-related activities and within the school itself.
906: Volunteers
To help individualize instruction, promote school/community interaction, support school activities and events, provide multi-generational and multi-cultural experiences and enrich curriculum for all learners.
915: Working Relations Between the District and Law Enforcement Authorities
To comply with state and federal laws regarding law enforcement access to student records and students while at school. In complying with these laws, the School Board is committed to protecting students' rights.