Knowing who does what in your child’s school, and figuring out the best ways to communicate with school staff, can help you be effective in supporting your child’s success in school.
All public school districts have many legal responsibilities. These must be taken care of “at the district level,” meaning they require the review or approval of the district’s school board. They include the following:
Selection of curriculum materials
Staff assignments, employee hires and dismissals, labor negotiations and contracts (teachers, principals, and other staff are all employees of the school district)
Monitoring both revenues and expenditures
Compliance with state and federal laws, including regulations related to dozens of categorical programs which range from special education to school lunches
Management of the district’s real property and facilities
In addition, most school districts centralize certain parts of their operation for efficiency and effectiveness. These can include staff development, purchasing, technology planning, strategic planning, public information, student transportation, student performance standards, and student assessments, to name just a few.
With the trend toward school-level decision making, some districts have pushed more operations and decisions to the school level. The district, however, retains the responsibility for equity of educational opportunity for all students in all of its schools.
