212 School Board Member Development

Purpose: In recognition of the need for Crosslake Community School’s (CCS) continuing inservice training and development for its members, the purpose of this policy is to encourage the members of the school board to participate in professional development activities designed for them so that they may perform their responsibilities.

1. All school board directors are encouraged to participate in school board and related workshops and activities sponsored by local, state and national school boards associations, as well as in the activities of other educational groups.
2. School board directors are expected to report back to the school board with materials of interest gathered at the various meetings and workshops.
3. The school board will reimburse the necessary expenses of all school board directors who attend meetings and conventions pertaining to school activities and the objectives of the school board, within the approved policy and budget allocations of CCS relating to the reimbursement of expenses involving the attendance at workshops and conventions.

1. Every CCS board member and nonvoting ex-officio member who is a CCS director or chief administrator must attend board training.
2. Prior to beginning their term, a new board member must complete training on a CCS board's role and responsibilities, open meeting law, and data practices law. An ex-officio member, who is a CCS director or chief administrator, must complete this training within three months of starting employment at the school.
3. A new board member must complete training on employment policies and practices under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 181; public school funding and financial management; and the board's roles and responsibilities regarding student success, achievement, and performance within 12 months of being seated on the board or the individual is automatically ineligible to continue to serve as a board member. A board member who does not complete training within the 12-month period is ineligible to be elected or appointed to a CCS board for a period of 18 months.
4. Every CCS board member must complete annual training throughout the member's term based on an annual assessment of the training needs of individual members and the full board. Ongoing training includes but is not limited to budgeting, financial management, recruiting and hiring a charter school director or chief administrator, evaluating a CCS director or chief administrator, governance-management relationships, student support services, student discipline, state standards, cultural diversity, succession planning, strategic planning, program oversight and evaluation, compensation systems, human resources policies, effective parent and community relationships, authorizer contract and relationships, charter school law, legal liability, board recruitment and elections, board meetings and operations, policy development and review, and school health and safety.
5. The organization or person providing training under Paragraphs B., C., and D. must certify the 212-1 individual's completion of the training provided. F. CCS is responsible for covering the costs related to board training. The charter school must include in its annual report the training each board member completed during the previous year.
6. The board must ensure that an annual assessment of the board's performance is conducted and the results are reported in the school's annual report.

[NOTE: The 2024 Minnesota legislature enacted these training requirements.]

Legal References: Minn. Stat. § 124E.07, Subd. 7 (Board of Directors)

Cross References:

• MSBA/MASA Model Policy 201 (Legal Status of the Charter School Board of Directors) (in CCS’s ByLaws)
• MSBA/MASA Model Policy 214 (Out-of-State Travel by Charter School Board Members) (in CCS’s ByLaws)
• MSBA/MASA Model Policy 412 (Expense Reimbursement)

Download 212 School Board Member Development Policy