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0001 - Policies/Procedures Governing the Office

The policies, regulations, procedures and other rules of the County Superintendent, as contained herein, identify an operational framework for the office. Policies are statements of intent which express values of the County Superintendent. They serve as guides to the administration in the development and implementation of operational procedures for the office.

It is the intent of the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS) to adopt policies and procedures that are required by law and to reflect the same herein. It is also the intent of this office that all policies and procedures be compatible with local county, state and federal laws. Policy making is continuous and ongoing. Policies, regulations, procedures and other rules will be periodically reviewed, changed, deleted or continued, as necessary.

The SBCSS shall establish and maintain an orderly plan for preserving and making accessible the adopted policies, procedures and exhibits. They shall be published online, maintained in current condition and made available to all persons concerned. Policies are intended as a reference source and guide for all staff members. As the “Rules and Regulations” of the County Superintendent, these policies and procedures have the force and effect of law. The County Superintendents’ Executive Cabinet shall monitor the ongoing Policies and Procedures. The Executive Cabinet shall also submit specific recommendations to the County Superintendent for modification and adoption of Policies and Procedures.

It is the intent of the SBCSS that governance is through adopted policies and procedures on matters that are repetitious and/or involve many people or organizations.

The term “Policies and Procedures” is synonymous with the term “Rules and Regulations” used by the California Legislature. Policies and Procedures also include online and printed materials issued by the County Superintendent under other labels including, but not limited to, handbooks, directives, rules, regulations, manuals, memorandums and collective bargaining agreements.

Random single acts of an employee inconsistent with documented policies, rules, directives, regulations or procedures of the SBCSS do not constitute past practice or infer policy contradictory to that documented as official. Such acts should promptly be brought to the attention of the County Superintendent or his/her designee so clarification or correction can be made.

Violation of policies, regulations and procedures may constitute a cause for discipline. The policies, regulations and procedures of the SBCSS are organized into three formats:

Policies and Procedures
I. Policies and Procedures are contained on the SBCSS internal website, also referred to as eNet.

II. Employee Agreements
Negotiated agreements of the SBCSS with the San Bernardino County Teachers’ Association (representing teachers and nurses); San Bernardino Public Employees Association, Teamsters Local 1932 (representing classified employees); and the California School Employees Association, Chapter 633 (representing para-educators) are published as separate documents. Each employee member should receive the agreement for his/her association.

Whenever a policy, regulation or procedure is in direct conflict with a negotiated agreement, the agreement prevails for those employees it represents. For management and confidential employees, the Policies and Procedures of the SBCSS are not superseded by any other document, excluding applicable laws and the policies of the County Board of Education.

III. Handbooks, Manuals, Bulletins, Guides
A number of handbooks and similar publications of the SBCSS are online and printed separately to provide thorough information and guidance about a single important topic.

These are provided to staff that need access to their specialized content. For example, the Handbook for Teachers is used by the instructional staff in Student Services.

Policies/Procedures Governing the Office
The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS) responsibility is to ensure that the Policies and Procedures contained herein are created and/or updated using a consistent method, the listed guidelines and procedures must be followed.

1. Human Resources will serve as the custodian of records for the approved Policies and Procedures of the SBCSS. Human Resources will be responsible for posting all approved new and revised Policies and Procedures to eNet and maintain the original documentation with the County Superintendent’s approved signature.

2. Recommendations for new and/or revised Policies and Procedures are brought forth to the County Superintendent by a member of the Executive Cabinet during an Executive Cabinet meeting for review and initial approval.
* To ensure that the most recently approved policy/procedure is used for updates, the initiator should obtain a copy of the most current policy or procedure from eNet. Recommended changes should be identified using strikethroughs (delete) or italics (addition). Bold or underlines should not be used to indicate changes as these are format styles generally used in the policies/procedures.
* New policy numbers are assigned by the initiating Executive Cabinet member within the appropriate series. Policy numbers may be changed by Human Resources for alignment purposes.

3. Upon initial approval by the County Superintendent, the policy/procedure is then reviewed by the County Superintendent’s Full Cabinet for additional input then returned to the initiating Executive Cabinet member for initial approval.

4. When the new or revised policy/procedure has been thoroughly reviewed by the County Superintendent, Executive and Full Cabinet, the initiator will remove all strikethroughs and/or italics so only the newly approved policy/procedure is shown.

5. The Executive Cabinet initiator will email an electronic copy (Microsoft Word format) to Human Resources.

6. Human Resources will ensure the format (style, font, margins, etc.) is consistent with other policies, make any necessary changes, print a copy and affix a signature block stamp for the County Superintendent’s signature.

7. Human Resources will submit the policy/procedure to the Office of the Superintendent for signature.

8. The approved signed copy will be returned to Human Resources for posting on eNet. Human Resources will remove the old policies/procedures and update the Index, if needed.

9. Human Resources will notify the Communications Department of all new and revised policies/procedures posted to eNet. Communications will inform employees of changes through the organization’s eNet and/or email.

10. Human Resources will retain the official signed document on file.

Approved: March 6, 2001
Revised: December 3, 2002
Revised: November 17, 2015