Goals & Policies

The District 401 Board of Education governs through written policies. These policies can be found online in the District Policy Manual.

The Board also provides a roadmap for the District by establishing goals and action items to be achieved over a multi-year period.

Goals for School Years 2021-22, 2022-23 & 2023-24

The most recent goals cover 2021-22 through 2023-24. They were approved in the spring of 2021 and address five major areas:

  1. Facilities
  2. Finances
  3. District-Community Relationship
  4. Programs/Services/Curriculum
  5. Student Needs

The full text of the goals, along with their corresponding action items, can be found here.

The Role of Policies

Written policies ensure legal compliance, establish Board processes, articulate objectives, delegate authority and define operating limits. Board policies also provide the basis for monitoring progress toward District 401 ends.

In addition, within the boundaries set by the Board of Education, each school has established rules, policies and procedures specific to its own requirements and circumstances. These can be found in the respective student handbook of each school.

How the Board Develops Policy

Anyone may propose new policies, changes to existing policies or deletion of existing policies. Staff suggestions should be processed through the superintendent. Suggestions from all others should be made to the board president or the superintendent.

A Board Policy Committee will consider all policy suggestions and provide information and recommendations to the Board.

During the policy development process, the superintendent is responsible for:

  • Providing relevant policy information and data to the Board
  • Notifying those who will implement or be affected by or required to implement a proposed policy and obtaining their advice and suggestions
  • Having policy recommendations drafted into written form for Board deliberation

The superintendent shall seek the counsel of the board attorney when appropriate. The Board's policy development process is governed by Section 2:240 of the District Policy Manual.

Policy Manual Overview

The Board of Education policies, rules and guidelines that govern District 401 are available for immediate access in an online version of the District 401 Policy Manual. This version provides the Board's policies and related regulations in a fully searchable, easy-to-use format.

As existing policies are revised or new policies approved, the changes will be added automatically to the online manual.

Directions for Using the Policy Manual

When you arrive at the online version of the Policy Manual, you will see the manual's table of contents on the left-hand side. The table of contents consists entirely of clickable links that will take you directly to the section you want.

In addition, a search box located above the table of contents allows you to search for policies by specific words or policy number.

Reference Guides to the Policy Manual

If you need additional help using the online version of the Policy Manual, the following links provide access to convenient explanatory guides:

Each link includes overview information for the first-time user and numerous time-saving tips.

In all likelihood you won't need either guide, but they're available for your convenience if you have any questions about how to use the online manual.

For More Information

Please visit this website's Handbooks & Policies section as well as the links listed below for additional information and resources concerning District 401 policies.