The Resolutions Committee met August 2 to consider and make
recommendations on new proposals and amendments to current position statements
brought forth by Association member districts. The report summarizes proposed
resolutions for 2019, and rationales and the Committee’s recommendations on
each. IASB membership will vote on these at the Delegate Assembly, November 23 at
the Joint Annual Conference in Chicago.
For 2019, the Committee recommends adoption of 10 proposed resolutions.
The Committee also recommends amendments to five current position statements
and one reaffirmation of a current position statement.
Four proposed resolutions are related to school safety and
security; the Resolutions Committee recommends "Do Adopt" for all
four.
One is an update of a proposal that did not pass the
membership vote last year, which calls for IASB to support legislation that
would provide local school boards the option to decide if they will allow for
properly trained staff to be armed in school buildings as part of the
district’s overall student safety and protection. A second proposed resolution
would address school safety and security by calling for IASB to support
legislation that would create and fund a program that would assist school
districts in hiring school resource officers. Two other safety-related
resolutions, one regarding a school district police force and another on school
zone traffic safety, are also recommended for adoption.
A proposal relating to the process of conducting background
checks on teachers is also recommended as “Do Adopt” by the Committee.
Adoption is also recommended on a proposal that IASB will
support changes to legislation to allow school districts to consider social
responsibility goals, including preferences for businesses owned by minorities,
women, persons with disabilities, and veterans, in selecting companies to
service contracts.
Two proposed resolutions impact school districts that host State
Authorized Charter Schools. One would call for IASB to support allowing a
school district to be part of the charter renewal process. A second would
support defining the expectations of such schools to educate at-risk students.
The Resolutions Committee recommends “Do Adopt” to both.
The Committee recommends adoption of two measures regarding the
timing of seating and terms of newly elected school board members. A third
election-related proposal, on who can swear a new member in, received a “Do Not
Adopt” from the Committee. A measure aimed at compensating school board members
is also recommended as “Do Not Adopt.”
Full details of the 2019 recommendations, including the
amendments and reaffirmation, are available in the Resolutions
Committee Report.
Resolution proposals are submitted each year by school
boards that are members of the Association. IASB staff works with the proposing
school board(s) as needed, by reviewing and researching proposed resolutions to
provide background on current law. Then, each proposed resolution is reviewed
by the Resolutions Committee, made up of 21 school board members representing
each of the Association’s divisions.
IASB membership votes on the recommendations each year at
the Delegate Assembly, held in November in conjunction with the Joint Annual
Conference in Chicago. The decisions reached by member boards of education
determine the direction of the Association’s advocacy efforts on behalf of its
members.