Friday, August 10, 2012

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What is the Policy Writing Process?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: What is the Policy Writing Process?:


What is the Policy Writing Process?

As the day nears when the Board will vote on Policy 2200, Equitable Access to Programs and Services, I have to wonder about the policy writing process. I have to wonder because I don't understand how such a poorly conceived policy could be written in the first place or how such a badly written policy could advance so far without major re-writing. Who is in control of the policy writing and what is the process by which policies are formed, drafted, amended, and approved?

I presumed, perhaps incorrectly, that the language of the policies are drafted by staff, but that the contents of the policies come from the Board. So when the draft version of Policy 2200, for example, specifically exempts a number of programs from the equitable access policy and makes their creation and location a site-based decision outside the superintendent's authority, I have to believe that a Board member either directed or guided the staff to write that exemption into the policy. When the policy drops the requirement for transparency in program placement decisions, I have to believe that it does so because a Board member guided or directed the