Policies and procedures (policies) must be approved following the process outlined below.

Upon the recommendation of the Chair, policies must be submitted for legal review prior to presentation to the board for a vote or within 30 days of approval by the board. In addition, all finance related policies must be reviewed by CHCS’s Director of Operations within the same timeframe. The Principal is responsible for securing review of all policies by the school attorney and, when applicable, the Director of Operations.

The CHCS board sets policy and, With the exception of policy created for the management of the CHCS Board itself, the Principal implements the policy and manages the school within the guidelines set forth in the policy created by the board. In the absence of policy, the Principal will refer to the Fulton County School policy and procedures and State of Georgia educational rulings as the default. The primary point of reference (PPR) for policy shall be the website: http://governance.chatthillscharter.org. Each policy should include the date approved by the board, legal reference, and when applicable, financial review.

Policies which are revised or eliminated by the board should be maintained in the PPR, with the date of the revision noted on the policy.

Policy Development Procedure:

Step One: Define the Issue or Problem

The process of policy development at CHCS begins with recognizing the need for written policy. We recognize that the board is not alone in identifying policy needs. Parents, students, teachers, local community leaders, the administration, the state or federal government, and education advocacy groups are all sources of policy issues and problems.

Step Two: Gather Necessary Information on the Issue

Sample policy language and analysis from the following agencies/authorizers shall be used as benchmarks: * Fulton County Schools Board of Education (default) * GA State Charter School Association * State of Georgia Board of Education * National Association of Independent Schools * Experience from other schools * Education research * Local input * State or federal laws and regulations

Step Three: Secure Recommendations from Principal

Once facts are available, the CHCS board will listen to recommendations for handling the policy issue. The charter school Principal will often be charged with recommending policy action, since he/she is the one responsible for carrying out the policy.

Step Four: Discuss and Debate at the Board Level (include input of all impacted parties)

  • Is the content within the scope of the board’s authority?
  • Is it consistent with local, state, and federal law? The U.S. and the state’s constitution?
  • Does it support the CHCS mission/vision, goals or objectives?
  • Is it good educational (personnel, business) practice?
  • Is it reasonable? (Are any requirements or prohibitions arbitrary, discriminatory or capricious?)
  • Does it adequately cover the subject?
  • Is it limited to one policy topic?
  • Is it consistent with board’s existing policies?
  • Can it be administered? Is it practical? How much will it cost?

Step Five: Draft Policy

After the board has reached consensus on policy content, the board will appoint a member or group to write the policy. The emphasis will be on drafting policy that is broadly stated with room for adjustment to fit special circumstances.

Step Six: Hold First Reading

Once in writing, the policy draft is placed on the board’s agenda for a first reading, giving notice to everyone in the CHCS community who maybe interested that the board has a specific policy under consideration. At this time the board has the opportunity for preliminary discussion of the proposed policy and, if it chooses, may hold a school community hearing if the policy being recommended is important and/or controversial in nature.

Policies are posted on the PPR for public commentary within 24 hours of the board meeting.

Step Seven: Make Revisions

Revise the policy based on the information gained from the questions, comments and suggestions obtained after the first reading. After the policy has been revised, the board may elect to solicit comment again, or it may adopt the policy. ### Step Eight: Adopt Policy Policy is adopted after a majority vote of the board.

Step Nine: Distribute to the Charter School Community

Seeing the policies are distributed as widely as possible is one way CHCS will ensure implementation.

Step Ten: Oversee Policy Implementation

Policy oversight is a dynamic process that includes an evaluative component. Oversight is intended to make sure that the policy accomplishes its goal. Policy oversight can provide guidance on whether to continue or modify the policy and to determine future courses of action.

Step Eleven: Policy Evaluation and Revision or Modification

Policies will be reviewed on a regular basis as a part of the board’s standard operating procedures to ensure they do not become out of date, unclear, or even contrary to the way in which CHCS is operating. When this occurs the policy might require modification or elimination. The policy amendment process will be the same as the policy adoption process.