Policy and Procedure Manuals

State law charges the Board with the responsibility for establishing written policies for the Board’s own governance and for District operations (e.g., RCW 28A.150.230 and RCW 28A.320.015).

Seattle School Board policies and supporting procedures are organized into numbered series, beginning with 0000 and ending with 6000. While each policy and procedure may address a variety of governance and operational issues, they are generally organized as follows:

• Governance Policies and Procedures
  • 0000 – Philosophy and Goals
  • 1000 – Board of Directors

• Operational Policies and Procedures
  • 2000 – Instruction
  • 3000 – Students
  • 4000 – Community Relations
  • 5000 – Personnel
  • 6000 – Management Support

The Superintendent or their designee shall maintain an online manual of the Governance and Operational policies and procedures of the District that is publicly accessible from the District website. The online manual is intended both as a tool for District administrators and school staff as well as a source of information to students, parents/guardians, and the broader community for understanding District governance and operations.

All policy manuals distributed to anyone remain the property of the District and are subject to recall at any time.

Policy Adoption and Amendment

Proposed new policies and proposed amendments to existing policies must be presented in writing for reading and discussion.

State law (RCW 28A.320.015) further requires proposed policies or policy amendments be described in any notice of the meetings at which the policy will be considered if the new policy or amendment is not expressly or by implication authorized by state or federal law and is intended to promote the education of K-12 students in public schools or promote the effective, efficient, or safe management and operation of the District. The Board must provide an opportunity for public written and oral comment on such policies before adoption or amendment.

Unless it is deemed by the Board that immediate action would be in the best interest of the District, the final vote for adoption will take place no earlier than the Board’s next regular or special meeting. In the event that immediate action on a proposed policy is necessary, the motion for its adoption will provide that immediate adoption is in the best interest of the District.

All new or amended policies are effective upon adoption unless a different effective date is provided in the motion for adoption.

Policies as newly adopted or amended are made a part of the archive of the meeting at which action was taken and are included in the District policy manual.

Policy Recommendations for Board Review and Approval

State law charges the Board with adopting policies for the governance and operation of the District. To ensure policies remain in compliance with state and federal laws and to promote the effective administration of the District, Board policy No. 1640, Responsibilities and Authority of the Superintendent, provides that the Superintendent will make recommendations to the Board for the adoption of new policies and revision or elimination of outdated policies.

Administrative Updates to Board Policies

School districts are continually evolving, and policies must reflect the current state of the District. Therefore, updating the header or footer, titles of staff, departments, or schools, and legal or cross references; making format changes; and fixing grammatical, capitalization, and punctuation errors in Board policies does not require further Board approval. Further, non-substantive changes that do not affect the meaning, duties, intent, or character of the policy do not require Board approval and may also be made administratively.

Superintendent Procedures

The Superintendent shall develop administrative procedures (called “Superintendent Procedures”) when needed for the implementation of Board policies.

Such procedures need not be approved by the Board, though the Board may respond to the adoption of a procedure that is inconsistent with the Board’s intent by adopting clarifying policy language. Procedures need not be reviewed by the Board prior to their issuance; though procedures are to be provided for information to the Board and may be tested periodically by the Office of Internal Audit. On controversial topics, the Superintendent is encouraged to request Board input prior to issuance.

The Superintendent or their designee shall annually provide a report on any changes to Superintendent Procedures from the previous year. 

Superintendent Procedure:

• 1310SP – Policy and Procedure Development

Policy Cross References:

• 0030 – Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity
• 1000 – Legal Status and Operation
• 1005 – Responsibilities and Authority of the Board
• 1400 – Board Meetings
• 1620 – Board-Superintendent Relationship
• 1620BP – Board-Superintendent Relationship Procedure
• 1640 – Responsibilities and Authority of the Superintendent

Previous Policies:

• B46.00 – Administrative Procedures
• B62.00 – Adoption and Revision of Board Policies and District Procedures

Legal References:

• RCW 28A.150.230 District school directors’ responsibilities.
• RCW 28A.320.010 Corporate powers.
• RCW 28A.320.015 School boards of directors—Powers—Notice of adoption of policy.
• RCW 28A.320.040 Bylaws for board and school government.
• RCW 42.30.060 Ordinances, rules, resolutions, regulations, etc., adopted at public meetings — Notice— Secret voting prohibited.

Management Resources:

Last Board Review:

• July 2, 2025

Revisions:

• July 2, 2025
• May 19, 2025 (Administrative Update per Policy No. 1310)
• June 7, 2023
• October 26, 2022
• November 3, 2021
• May 16, 2012

Adopted by the Board:

• June 1, 2011