In 1990, the Tennessee Legislature mandated that school board members be properly trained during their service on the board and gave the State Board of Education the responsibility to set the minimum requirements. The State Board made the requirement that every board member participate annually in seven hours of training provided by the School Board Academy training program which is to be administered by the State Department of Education.

School board members in their first year of board service must attend a two-day Orientation Course plus one core module. Following are the School Board Academy core modules:

• Board Policy
• Advocacy for Children
• Vision for Excellence
• Board-Superintendent Relations
• Board's Role in School Finance

• Planning: A Joint Venture
• Team Building

Both of these modules are designed for the entire board and their superintendent to attend together. If a board chooses to attend one of these joint academies, board members are given an additional year to complete their core modules.

The School Board Academy program offers three elective modules:

• School Law
• The Board's Role in Creating a Climate for School Improvement
• Assessment on CD Rom

The elective modules cannot be substituted for the core modules.

The School Board Academy Program offers the following Optional Credit Modules:

• TSBA Policy Update Workshop
• TSBA New Board Chairman Workshop
• TSBA Leadership Conference
• TSBA Employment Law Seminar
• TSBA Summer Law Institute
• TSBA Out of Harm's Way

Optional Credit modules are only available to those board members who have completed the core modules. Registration fees are associated with all Optional Credit Modules.

The School Board Academy Program offers Local Option Credit. Individual boards of education can submit a training workshop that they are conducting in their system for possible local option credit by submitting a request form to the State Department of Education. The form must include the title and description of the workshop along with the total number of hours. The goals of the Local Option training must reflect the School Board Competencies identified in the School Board Academy Program. The guidelines for local option credit may be obtained through the Office of Professional Development at the State Department of Education. If approved, school board members can use this local training event to fulfill their mandatory school board training requirement. This is an option that is only available to those board members that have completed their core modules. Registration, cost and other expenses to attend are the responsibility of the individual board member. For information or questions regarding Local Option Credit, contact Barry Olhausen, Executive Director, Office of Professional Development at 615/532-4713.