WY Stat § 21-3-110 (2021)
2021 Wyoming Statutes|Title 21 - Education|Chapter 3 - School Districts in General|Article 1 - In General|Section 21-3-110 - Duties of Boards of Trustees.

21-3-110. Duties of boards of trustees.| (a) The board of trustees in each school district shall:  (i) Prescribe and enforce rules, regulations and policies for its own government and for the government of the schools under its jurisdiction. Rules and regulations shall be consistent with the laws of the state and rules and regulations of the state board and the state superintendent and shall be open to public inspection;  (ii) Keep minutes of all meetings at which official action is taken and a record of all official acts including a record of all warrants issued against the monies belonging to the school district. The minutes and records shall be public records. A list of each warrant over five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be published one (1) time in a legal newspaper of general circulation within the respective county within thirty (30) days of the date of the meeting. Individual yearly gross salary payments need be published only once in March of each year:  (A) Each individual annual gross salary shall be identified by category and each individual salary shall be published as a gross dollar amount without identification other than by category. Categories shall include superintendent, assistant superintendent, high school principal, assistant high school principal, junior high principal, junior high assistant principals, elementary principals, elementary assistant principals, first grade teachers, second grade teachers, third grade teachers, fourth grade teachers, fifth grade teachers, sixth grade teachers, kindergarten teachers, high school departmental teachers (business, language arts, foreign languages, science, social studies, mathematics, or other), vocal music, instrumental music, elementary music, secondary art, elementary art, secondary physical education, elementary physical education, career and technical education, secondary guidance counselors, secondary librarians, elementary librarians, driver education, special education teachers, remedial teachers, nurses, teacher's aides, head coaches, assistant coaches, dramatics, secondary secretarial, junior high secretarial, elementary secretarial, business managers, janitorial, bus drivers, and other categories which may be selected so that every individual salary may be categorized. Each category shall show a cumulative subtotal and there shall be a grand total of all categories. At the end of the salary publication there shall be printed the district salary schedule;  (B) Forms shall be furnished to the school districts by the state department of education for such publications which shall be the same in all unified districts.  (iii) Elect from its membership at the first regular meeting after December 1 of each year, a chairman, a vice-chairman, a clerk and a treasurer;  (iv) Fix the time and place of regular meetings; provided, that there shall be at least one (1) meeting per month. Any meeting which is not a regular meeting shall be a special meeting;  (v) Submit reports concerning finances or any other matter as the state board, state superintendent or state law may require;  (vi) Estimate the amount of funds required to be raised for public school purposes through a tax levy upon the property lying within the district and in accordance with the Uniform Municipal Fiscal Procedures Act present to the board of county commissioners of each county included in whole or in part within the district a certified copy of the budget as finally adopted with a certified estimate of the tax required to raise the appropriate amount. This tax shall be levied, collected and distributed as prescribed by law;  (vii) Control and disburse all moneys received from any source to maintain the schools within the district;  (viii) Obtain competitive bids when any purchase of insurance, supplies or materials other than textbooks costing more than twenty-five thousand dollars($25,000.00) and less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) is contemplated unless precluded by other regulation or statute. If the amount of the purchase of insurance, supplies or materials other than textbooks is equal to or exceeds fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), a call for bids shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the district and on the state procurement website, as defined in W.S. 9-2-3001(b)(vii). For any contract for a capital construction project with an estimated value in excess of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), the board shall publish a call for bids in a newspaper of general circulation in the district at least once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks. All contracts for capital construction projects shall be let in accordance with W.S. 9-2-3004 and 9-2-3006 except as provided in this paragraph. The district shall reserve the right to reject any and all bids and to waive irregularities and informalities in any bid, as defined in W.S. 9-2-3001(b)(v). No contract shall be divided for the purpose of avoiding this paragraph. Items for which bids must be obtained may be described in the published call for bids by stating general requirements and making detailed specifications available to prospective bidders at the district's administrative headquarters. A district shall independently meet the requirements of this paragraph when procuring goods or services that are subject to this paragraph through a board of cooperative educational services.  (ix) Require the treasurer of the board of trustees and the school district superintendent to give such bond in such penalty and with such sureties as the board may direct, conditioned upon the faithful application of all moneys and property which may come into his hands by virtue of his office. The bond shall not exceed one and one fourth of the amount of all school moneys handled by such officer in any one (1) year. Such bonds after being approved by the board and by an attorney selected by the board as to form and execution shall be filed with the county treasurer and no disbursements shall be made until such bonds shall have been approved and filed as required by this section. In case of breach of conditions of such bonds, suit shall be brought thereon by the board for the benefit of the district;  (x) Subject to review by the state construction department under W.S. 21-15-117 for any project involving state capital construction assistance, fix the site of each school building and facility considering the needs of the people of each portion of the district. If the district enters into an agreement to lease buildings and facilities owned by the district and the buildings and facilities are included within the statewide database maintained by the state construction department under W.S. 21-15-123(f)(iv), the district shall, except as provided under W.S. 21-15-109(c)(i)(A)(II) and (III) and (B), ensure the lease agreement requires sufficient payment from the lessee to cover expenses necessary to adequately maintain the facility or building in accordance with statewide adequacy standards prescribed by the commission. If the district or a charter school operating pursuant to a contract with the district enters into an agreement to lease buildings and facilities under which the district or the charter school is the lessee and the building is to be used for the provision of the required educational program within the district, the lease agreement shall require the lessor to adequately maintain the buildings and facilities in accordance with standards prescribed by the commission. The district shall be reimbursed for the lease payment of the district or the charter school if the square footage of the leased facility is not included within the district's total square footage for purposes of major maintenance computations under W.S. 21-15-109, subject to the following:  Note: Effective 7/1/2022 this paragraph will read as:  (x) Subject to review by the state construction department under W.S. 21-15-117 for any project involving state capital construction assistance, fix the site of each school building and facility considering the needs of the people of each portion of the district. If the district enters into an agreement to lease buildings and facilities owned by the district and the buildings and facilities are included within the statewide database maintained by the state construction department under W.S. 21-15-123(f)(iv), the district shall, except as provided under W.S. 21-15-109(c)(i)(A)(II) and (III) and (B), ensure the lease agreement requires sufficient payment from the lessee to cover expenses necessary to adequately maintain the facility or building in accordance with statewide adequacy standards prescribed by the commission. If the district or a charter school operating within the boundaries of the district enters into an agreement to lease buildings and facilities under which the district or the charter school is the lessee and the building is to be used for the provision of the required educational program within the district, the lease agreement shall require the lessor to adequately maintain the buildings and facilities in accordance with standards prescribed by the commission. The district shall be reimbursed for the lease payment of the district or the charter school if the square footage of the leased facility is not included within the district's total square footage for purposes of major maintenance computations under W.S. 21-15-109, subject to the following:  (A) If the lease payment is for educational facilities used in the actual operation of a charter school, the state construction department shall pay the district the contract amount approved by the department for the lease payment by the charter school if:  (I) The charter is approved by the district under W.S. 21-3-301 through 21-3-314;  Note: Effective 7/1/2022 this subdivision will read as:  (I) The charter is approved under W.S. 21-3-301 through 21-3-314;  (II) The department determines no adequate educational facilities exist within the district for operation of the charter school;  Note: Effective 7/1/2022 this subdivision will read as:  (II) The department determines no adequate educational facilities exist within the applicable district for operation of the charter school;  (III) The charter school has been approved and has successfully operated for a period of not less than three (3) years; and  (IV) The district pays the charter school the amount of the reimbursement received under this subparagraph.  (B) Any payment made by the department pursuant to this paragraph for a leased building or facility shall not exceed the average cost per square foot to lease buildings or facilities comparable to those appropriate for public K-12 education multiplied by the total square feet leased by the district or charter school necessary to deliver the required educational program. The average cost per square foot for comparable buildings or facilities shall:  (I) Be as determined by the department;  (II) Be comparable in location and type to the building or facility leased by the district or charter school; and  (III) Not include any cost for utilities or routine maintenance.  (C) If the lease payment is for facilities leased to the district or a charter school by a state institution which meets state adequacy standards prescribed by rule and regulation of the commission, the amount of the lease reimbursement paid by the state construction department shall not include the amount received by the institution from the state for major building and facility repair and replacement costs attributable to the facility, as computed by the department.  (xi) Adopt and use an official seal when required to authenticate official acts;  (xii) Cause the United States and Wyoming flags to be properly displayed in, upon, or around school buildings within the district;  (xiii) Consider every petition presented to the board and subscribed by at least five (5) citizens of the school district and take some action on such petition within thirty (30) days after it is received; provided, that no action shall be required if the precise question presented by the petition has been considered and acted upon by the board of trustees at any meeting held within the current fiscal year;  (xiv) Require an accounting of all receipts and expenditures to be made by each organization, function, or other group sponsored by, or functioning in any way within the schools of the district, such accounting to be made by each such organization, function, or group at least once each year and a copy thereof posted in each school building connected with such organization, function, or group;  (xv) Provide an educational program within the schools under its jurisdiction in compliance with uniform state standards prescribed under W.S. 21-9-101 and 21-9-102 and by rule and regulation of the state board and on or before November 1 of each school year, report to the department evidence of the alignment of its assessment system with the uniform state standards provided within its schools;  (xvi)(A) Publish the following notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the school district at least two (2) times each year, once within a week after the first regular meeting in December and once as a part of the statement of revenue and expenditures of the district:  Notice of School Board Meetings and Availability of Minutes  Notice is hereby given that regular meetings of the board of trustees of .... County School District Number ...., State of Wyoming, are held each month, at .... o'clock on .... (here insert days or dates) in Room .... of the .... school building in .... (city or town), Wyoming, and such meetings are open to the public.  Notice is also given that official minutes of each regular or special meeting of such board, including a record of all official acts and of all warrants issued, are available for inspection by any citizen during regular office hours at the office of the clerk of said district, at .... (here insert address of office).  ...........................  Chairman, Board of Trustees  ............. County School  District, Number ..........  (B) If the board changes the time and place of its regular meetings, then such notice shall also be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the school district, once before such change shall become effective;  (C) All meetings of the board are subject to W.S. 16-4-401 through 16-4-408.  (xvii) Require the performance of each initial contract teacher to be evaluated once a year against the school district's standards for performance, as submitted and approved pursuant to W.S. 21-2-304(b)(xv). The evaluation shall be in writing and an opportunity for feedback to improve performance shall be provided. The teacher shall receive a copy of each evaluation of his performance;  (xviii) Establish a teacher performance evaluation system and require the performance of each continuing contract teacher to be evaluated against the school district's standards for performance, as submitted and approved pursuant to W.S. 21-2-304(b)(xv), once a year until the teacher has been classified as effective under the performance evaluation system utilized by the school district for two (2) consecutive years. Upon a classification of effective for two (2) consecutive years, evaluation shall occur at minimum once every three (3) years. The teacher shall receive a copy of each evaluation of his performance;  (xix) Performance evaluations required under paragraphs (a)(xvii) and (xviii) of this section shall serve as a basis for improvement of instruction, enhancement of curriculum program implementation, measurement of both individual teacher performance and professional growth and development and the performance level of all teachers within the school district, and as documentation for unsatisfactory performance that may lead to dismissal, suspension and termination proceedings under W.S. 21-7-110;  (xx) Establish and maintain kindergartens in connection with the public schools of the district with at least one (1) full-day kindergarten program available within the district;  (xxi) Report to the state department of education the actual average class size and range of class sizes for grades kindergarten through five (5) and for reading or English and language arts and mathematics classes for grades six (6) through twelve (12). These reports shall be publicly available;  (xxii) In accordance with guidelines established by the state superintendent under W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxii), implement standards for the storage and disposal of toxic chemicals and other hazardous substances used by schools within the district for educational programs;  (xxiii) Implement and administer the reading screening and intervention program for students in kindergarten through grade three (3) as required by W.S. 21-3-401;  (xxiv) Adopt a student assessment system to measure student performance relative to the uniform student content and performance standards in all content areas for which the state board has promulgated standards pursuant to W.S. 21-2-304(a)(iii). To the extent required by W.S. 21-2-204 and 21-2-304(a)(vi), the district assessment system shall be integrated with the statewide assessment system and the statewide accountability system. Components of the district assessment system required by this paragraph shall be designed and used to determine the various levels of student performance in all content areas of the uniform student content and performance standards relative to the common core of knowledge and skills prescribed under W.S. 21-9-101(b). The district shall report to the state board in accordance with W.S. 21-2-304(a)(iv) on its assessment system adopted under this paragraph;  (xxv) At minimum and on or before November 1 of each school year, report to the department of education evidence that the district is compliant with high school graduation standards imposed by the state board under W.S. 21-2-304(a)(iii);  (xxvi) Provide access to district records and other information by the department of audit as necessary to conduct audits and studies under W.S. 9-1-513 and otherwise cooperate with the department of audit when conducting audits and studies of the district pursuant to W.S. 9-1-513. The board shall also submit a written response to the department of audit on each audit and report conducted on the district in accordance with W.S. 9-1-513;  (xxvii) Cooperate with the state construction department in developing facility plans for the district addressing district-wide building and facility needs in accordance with W.S. 21-15-116 and rule and regulation of the school facilities commission;  (xxviii) Annually report to the state superintendent on district expenditures for career and technical education programs, broken down by school, and submitted in a manner and form required by rule and regulation of the state superintendent;  (xxix) Beginning in school year 2017-2018, and each school year thereafter, administer a program where all students enrolled in the eleventh and twelfth grades in the district shall be required to take or be provided the opportunity to take, on a date or dates specified by the state superintendent, a standardized college entrance examination or a career readiness examination in accordance with W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxx). Each school district shall provide the opportunity for all home school and private school students in the eleventh and twelfth grades and residing within the district to take the examinations at no cost to the student on the same date or dates administered to all eleventh and twelfth grade public school students in the state. The results of the examinations may be included in each student's transcript;  (xxx) Not later than school year 2018-2019 and each school year thereafter, in addition to paragraphs (xvii), (xviii) and (xix), require the performance of each school district leader, including superintendents and principals and other district or school leaders serving in a similar capacity to be evaluated each year in accordance with the professional standards established by the state board of education under W.S. 21-2-304(b)(xvi);  (xxxi) Not later than December 31, 2011, adopt a policy and training procedures regarding the use of seclusion and restraint in schools. In addition to any requirements provided by rule and regulation of the state superintendent pursuant to W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxxii), the policy shall require that the parent or legal guardian of the student shall be notified each time that seclusion or restraint is utilized for the student. The policy shall prohibit the use of locked seclusion. The policy shall not be limited to any specified group of students and shall apply any time that seclusion or restraint is used for any student. The district shall submit a copy of the policy to the state superintendent for review as provided in W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxxii), after the initial adoption of the policy and any time thereafter that the policy is substantially revised. As used in this paragraph:  (A) "Restraint" means the use of physical force, with or without the use of any physical device or material, to restrict the free movement of all or a portion of a student's body. "Restraint" does not include comforting or calming a student, holding the hand or arm of a student to escort the student if the student is complying, intervening in a fight or using an assistive or protective device prescribed by an appropriately trained professional or professional team;  (B) "Seclusion" means removing a student from a classroom or other school activity and isolating the student in a separate area. "Seclusion" does not include a student requested break or in-school suspension, detention or other appropriate disciplinary measure.  (xxxii) Commencing school year 2011-2012, adopt protocols to address risks associated with concussions and other head injuries resulting from athletic injuries. Implementation of this paragraph shall be subject to the immunity provisions of the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act. The protocols shall:  (A) Include training of coaches and athletic trainers to facilitate the recognition of symptoms of concussions;  (B) Address restrictions concerning participation in school athletic events after suffering a concussion or head injury;  (C) Include means for providing to students and parents information on head injuries and concussions and related restrictions on participation in athletic activities.  (xxxiii) Commencing with school year 2014-2015 and each school year thereafter, with funds made available to the district under the Wyoming education resource block grant model as defined under W.S. 21-13-101(a)(xiv), require each teacher and school administrator within the district to receive at least eight (8) hours of suicide prevention education every four (4) school years using suitable materials reviewed and recommended by the state superintendent under W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxxv). Any teacher or school administrator shall receive at least two (2) hours of suicide prevention education during the initial school year of employment with the district if the teacher or school administrator has not received suicide prevention training complying with this paragraph prior to employment. Suicide prevention education may consist of self-review of approved suitable materials. The board shall make all suicide prevention education materials and classes available to interested community members;  (xxxiv) Effective school year 2015-2016, in conjunction with district accreditation, as a component of the statewide education accountability system and in accordance with W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxxvi), be subject to a review by the department of education once every five (5) years on the alignment of the district's assessment system with the uniform state education standards promulgated by the state board, and the district's adherence to the uniform graduation standards prescribed by the state board under W.S. 21-2-304(a)(iii);  (xxxv) Effective January 1, 2018, adopt and enforce a policy regarding the collection, access, privacy, security and use of student data in accordance with guidelines established by the state superintendent under W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxxvii);  (xxxvi) Participate in programs of the department of workforce services necessary to receive premium discounts for the state worker's compensation program;  (xxxvii) Procure the professional services of architects, engineers and surveyors in accordance with W.S. 9-23-101 through 9-23-107.  (xxxviii) Establish a process in policy to approve or deny requests made by a pupil's parent or guardian based on the pupil's kindergarten readiness assessment score to assess whether the pupil is sufficiently mature to be admitted to the applicable grade. [NOTE: This paragraph will be effective 8/1/2021.]  (xxxix) Define "habitual truancy" and "unexcused absence" for all students who are attending public schools and establish rules regarding student attendance. For purposes of this paragraph, an absence preapproved by the district or an absence due to an illness, injury or the health care needs of the student or a death or serious illness in the student's family shall not constitute an unexcused absence. Students participating in the annual state fair held under W.S. 11-10-101 as an exhibitor shall be considered as participating in a district cocurricular activity program and the student's absence shall be defined by the board as an excused absence. Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a school district from requesting verification of the reasons for an absence. [NOTE: This paragraph will be effective 8/1/2021.]  (b) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 84, § 2.