Your employee handbook is the guiding document for your teachers and staff to understand what is and isn’t a part of working at your school. Your handbook should be carefully written and reviewed often to ensure it’s best suited to protect your employees and your school as a whole.
These four items should be included in every school employee handbook. Be sure to review any new additions with your school’s legal team.
EEO Statement—Make sure that your handbook opens with an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statement. This declares that the school prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, military status, genetic information, and all other classes/characteristics protected under your state’s laws. However, if your school is faith-based, your school’s mission may determine your school’s hiring guidelines. For example, sexual orientation, marital status, arrest record, and other characteristics are protected in some states, but not at the federal level.
ADA/Disability Accommodations—All handbooks should include a policy that describes the school’s compliance with the non-discrimination provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). It describes how the school prohibits discrimination against otherwise qualified “disabled” applicants and promises to provide “reasonable accommodations” that are not an undue hardship on the school.
Harassment Policy—Make sure that you have a well-articulated harassment policy. It should include all forms of illegal harassment (i.e., all of the protected characteristics listed in the EEO statement). While sexual harassment is the most well-known form of harassment, a sound policy will not be limited to sexual harassment only.
Employee Classifications—It is important for employees to have a clear understanding of the school’s classifications (and which classifications apply to them). To this end, your employee handbook should clearly define several statuses, including:
- Full-time or part-time (for benefits and paid time-off purposes)
- Exempt (not eligible for overtime) or non-exempt (eligible for overtime)
- At-will and contract statuses
The above items are designed to bring the school into compliance with federal and state regulations. As such, they don’t require input, feedback, or consensus—and can be implemented unilaterally by the school.
However, several other vital policies and processes should only be inserted after considerable reflection and discussion on the part of the administration. In many cases, you should also solicit input from faculty and staff, as these policies must align with the mission, culture, and values of the school.
These might include your conflict resolution policy, performance evaluation process, and professional development plan.
Additional ISM Resources:
The Source for Business and Operations Vol. 11 No. 8 Top Eight Employee Handbook Mistakes
Additional ISM resources for members:
I&P Vol. 34 No. 14 School Head and Board Roles in Shaping an Effective Employee Handbook
