Effective bylaws and policies are at the core of successful school district governance. Maintaining bylaws and policies that reflect both local oversight and ever-changing state and federal laws is an enormous task.

Don't face this challenge alone! MASB has provided bylaw and policy development for Michigan school districts for over 20 years. MASB's model bylaws, policies and administrative regulations are written expressly for Michigan educational leaders by Michigan based policy experts. Our staff works with districts to produce bylaws and policies that comply with current law and reflect the best practices in the field of education. Large and small districts are served as well as intermediate school districts and regional educational service agencies.

Our services:

Michigan Comprehensive Bylaw and Policy Manual
The Michigan Comprehensive Bylaw and Policy Manual is our most popular product. It's a generic manual designed to fit the needs of Michigan public school districts, intermediate school districts and regional educational service agencies. There are many advantages to the comprehensive manual, including:

• Cost: The manual is priced competitively below the normal cost of other generic manual services. Pricing includes sample administrative rules, procedures and pertinent forms. If the district opts for MASB's flash drive in lieu of customized printed manuals for their final manual, the district can save an additional $500.
  
• Convenience: There is less work for the board and the superintendent involved in the review and approval of the new bylaws and policies. The MASB numeric numbering system is easier to use and understand than other coding systems. 
• Flexibility: While the Michigan Comprehensive Manual is intended to replace the former bylaw and policy collection of the district, accommodations are made to include local policies or resolutions if desired, not to exceed six (6), at no added cost. 

POWER - Policies on the Web as an Educational Resource
MASB now offers school districts an economical way to make your entire school policy collection (along with administrative rules if desired) fingertip accessible on the Internet. This Web-based service is powerful. Now your district can create a convenient, "paperless" policy collection that's accessible to administrators, teachers and parents —at any time. The award winning POWER program (MSAE "Diamond Award," 2003) is user-friendly, easy to navigate, word-searchable and expandable.

Online Policy Update Service (OPUS)
School districts that don't subscribe to ERiN can now subscribe to MASB's Online Policy Update Service that is separate and distinct from ERiN. In the past, the only way a district could access the online Bylaw and Policy Update page was through a subscription to ERiN. This service allows those districts that don't have a subscription or access to ERiN a policy update service at a reduced price than the full ERiN subscription. Prices start as low as $350 per year. Initial contracts require a two-year obligation, and a 10 percent discount will be applied for three-year contracts.

Policy Development
MASB will work with the board, administrators and committee(s) to develop a comprehensive bylaw and policy manual that suits your district's needs. The new bylaws, policies and administrative rules/regulations will be a unique collection assembled by Michigan educators and attorneys. The final manual will contain legal citations, footnoted reference material, a comprehensive index and a cross-referencing system. The end result will be a policy manual that is in line with current law and court decisions, indexed, cross-referenced and cross-checked, and meets the individual needs of your district. 

Policy Updating
The update process allows the board to bring their policies and practices in line with current law while maintaining their unique local character. The board remains in charge of the process, but experienced MASB staff assist the board by doing most of the complex review and detail work required. This saves the board time to attend to the other needs of the districts and guarantees a more carefully crafted set of policies. 

Complete School Forms Collection
This service features more than 300 forms covering virtually any policy need of a public school district. All of the forms are coded to match MASB's Comprehensive Bylaw and Policy Manual. The manual is available in CD-ROM format or in a 3-ring binder. The forms manual is available for sale to any public school board, public school superintendent, charter academies chartered by public school districts and members of the Council of School Attorneys. The CD-ROM manual costs $75 and the 3-ring binder manual is $95. 

Other Policy Assistance
The policy department participates in MASB-sponsored training, events, conferences, CBA classes and provides special programs on hot topics. Special programs or seminars can be requested by MASB member boards. 

MASB is your association, and we look forward to sharing with you the enormous responsibility of educating our young people. If you have any questions about our Bylaw and Policy Services Department, please contact Bob Ebersole, assistant legal counsel, 517.327.5914, or Randi Airola, administrative assistant, 517.327.5931.