Basic Legal and Governance Resources for School Board Members
The WASB created this webpage to provide a compilation of basic governance, legal, policy, advocacy and other resources intended to help new school board members get started. For more information on any of these topics, please visit the related department website pages. Please contact the WASB with any questions. Member login may be required to access some materials.
General Resources
- Wisconsin School Law Resources (a website login is required to access some of this content)
School Board Candidates/New School Board Members
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- Guide for Candidates (for the 2025 spring election)
- WASB At Your Service Brochure
- New School Board Member Handbook
- 2024 Online New School Board Member Gathering
- WASB’s “What Every Board Member Needs to Know About Their District” Form
- April 2020 WASB Podcast on onboarding new members
- April 2022 WASB Podcast on building a strong foundation for new board members
Advocacy & Government Relations
Conflicts of Interest / Ethics
- Board Duties and Obligations and Potential Ramifications for Non-Compliance, Legal Comment, April 2016, Wisconsin School News
- Recurring issues for school board members: School board member conflicts of interest, ethics, and incompatibility of offices, WASB Legal Comment, May 2013
- Memo: Incompatibility Exception for Board Members Serving as Volunteer Coaches/Advisors (section 120.20 of the state statutes), April 2016
- Legal and Ethical Standards Related to Attendance at the State Education Convention, WASB Legal Comment, January 2019
- Board member conflicts and incompatibility of offices, WASB Legal Comment, July 2003
Governance
- Governance Does Matter: What Research Says About Links Between School Boards and Student Achievement, Wisconsin School News, May 2020
- Episode 5 of the WASB Connection Podcast: An interview about the connection between school board and student achievement, April 2020
- Board duties and obligations and potential ramifications for non-compliance, Legal Comment, April 2016, Wisconsin School News
- Delegation of school board authority, October 2012 Legal Comment
- Academic Research of School Board Conflict, Wisconsin School News, June-July 2016
- Leadership Matters, Wisconsin School News, April 2015
- Governance and Student Achievement, Wisconsin School News, December 2015
Finance
- Department of Public Instruction School Financial Services
- Wisconsin Policy Forum School Data Tool
- Understanding School Finance in Wisconsin: A Primer (Badger Institute (formerly the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute)), May 2013)
- WASBO/WASB/WSPRA Investing in Wisconsin Public Schools Interactive Tool
Labor Law and Human Resources
- Legal Implications of Employee Handbooks, WASB Legal Comment, December 2020
- Put it in Black and White – Employee handbooks can help set clear expectations for staff, Wisconsin School News, August 2011
- Addressing Questions About Act 10, Legal Comment, September 2014
- Individual Teacher Contracts and the Non-renewal Process, 2020
- Administrator Contracts, 2020
- Discipline, Termination and Nonrenewal Under Districts’ Grievance Policies, WASB Legal Comment, June 2019
- EEOC Overview of Employment Discrimination Laws Applicable to Employers
Policy-Making
- Exercise Board Leadership Through Policy, The FOCUS, April 2016
- Focusing Policy-making on Student Achievement, The FOCUS, May 2006
- The legal significance of school board policies, WASB Legal Comment, November 2007
- Board Policy vs. Administrative Rules
- Monitoring/Overseeing Policies
- WASB Policy Manual Checklist
School Board Officers
- Organizational Meetings Webinar, April 2023
- Organizational Meetings & Officer Roles Presentation, April 2023
- The duties and responsibilities of school board officers, WASB Legal Comment, March 2007
Meeting Management
- School Board Meetings During the COVID-19 Pandemic, WASB Focus, March 2020
- Coming to Order: How to Plan and Conduct Effective School Board Meetings, Wisconsin School News, December 2016
- Board Agendas, Voting and Minutes, WASB Legal Comment, April 2017
- Board Member Voting, WASB Legal Comment, April 2007
- Minutes of School Board Meetings, WASB Legal Comment, May 2009
- Closed Sessions, WASB Legal Comment, August 2018
- Rules of Order, Wisconsin School News, September 2011
- Remote Participation in Board Meetings, WASB Legal Comment, October 2018
- Annual School District Meeting Booklet, WASB booklet (for common and union high school districts; school districts that are organized as “unified” school districts do not hold an annual meeting of the school district’s electors)
Additional Resources:
- WASB School Board Meeting Self-Evaluation Tool (depending on browser, may require user to open in Adobe Acrobat viewer for the fillable feature of the pdf to be supported)
- BoardDocs eGovernance Solutions – Online Policy Management and Paperless Meeting Services
Open Meetings Law
- WASB Open Meetings Law Brochure (rev July 2021)
- Wisconsin Attorney General’s Open Meetings Compliance Guide (2019)
- Closed Sessions, WASB Legal Comment, August 2018
Public Records
- Wisconsin Attorney General’s Public Records Compliance Guide (2019)
- School Board Member Communications, WASB Legal Comment, October 2019
- Retention and disclosure of electronic communications, WASB Legal Comment, December 2017
- School board member and employee use of social networking sites, WASB Legal Note, Summer 2010
- Electronic communications records and the public records law, WASB Legal Comment, December 2010
- Open Records Requests for Employee Investigation Records, WASB Legal Comment, May 2017
Taking Office
- New School Board Member Orientation, The Focus, Jan. 2012
- Tips for New School Board Members, Wisconsin School News, May 2016
- Board member compensation–Issues related to declining payment, WASB Legal Comment, October 2017
- Taking office as a school board member, WASB Legal Note, Spring 1993
Other Helpful Education Links
