2:120 Board Member Development

The Board of Education desires that its individual members learn, understand, and practice effective governance principles.  The Board is responsible for member orientation and development.  Board members have an equal opportunity to attend state and national meetings designed to familiarize members with public school issues, governance, and legislation.

The Board President and/or Superintendent shall provide all Board members with information regarding pertinent educational materials, publications, and notices of training or development.

Mandatory Board Member Training

Each Board member is responsible for his or her own compliance with the mandatory training laws that are described below:

1. Each Board member elected or appointed to fill a vacancy of at least one year’s duration must complete at least 4 hours of professional development leadership training in education and labor law, financial oversight and accountability, fiduciary responsibilities, and (beginning in the fall of 2023) trauma-informed practices for students and staff within the first year of his or her first term.
2. Each Board member must complete training on the Open Meetings Act no later than 90 days after taking the oath of office for the first time. After completing the training, each Board member must file a copy of the certificate of completion with the Board. Training on the Open Meetings Act is only required once.
3. Each Board member must complete a training program on evaluations under the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) before participating in a vote on a tenured teacher’s dismissal using the optional alternative evaluation dismissal process. This dismissal process is available after the District’s PERA implementation date.

The Superintendent or designee shall maintain on the District website a log identifying the complete training and development activities of each Board member, including both mandatory and non-mandatory training.

Board Self-Evaluation

The Board will conduct periodic self-evaluations with the goal of continuous improvement.

New Board Member Orientation

The following steps are taken to orient newly elected or appointed Board of Education members:

1. The Board President or Superintendent or their designees shall give each new Board of Education member access to the Board of Education Policy Manual, the Board of Education meetings minutes for the past year, and other helpful information including material describing the District and explaining the Board of Education’s roles and responsibilities.
2. The Superintendent or designee shall provide each new Board of Education member a briefing on the roles and responsibilities of major divisions and departments as described in the District Organization Chart.
3. The Board President or Superintendent shall schedule one or more meetings, or schedule time during regular meetings, for Board members to become acquainted and to review Board processes and procedures.
4. The Board President may request a veteran Board member to mentor a new member.
5. New members are encouraged to attend workshops for new members conducted by the Illinois Association of Board of Education.

Candidates

The Superintendent or designee shall invite all current candidates for the office of Board of Education member to attend (1) Board of Education meetings, except that this invitation shall not extend to any closed meetings, and (2) pre-election workshops for candidates

Cross Reference: 

2:080 Board Member Oath and Conduct

2:125 Board Member Expenses

2:200 Types of Board of Education Meetings

Legal Reference(s):

5 ILCS 120/1.05 and 120/2.

105 ILCS 5/10-16a and 5/24-16.5

Date Adopted:  December 13, 2011

Date Amended: December 20, 2016

Date Amended:  January 25, 2022