§ 21-3-110 — Duties of boards of trustees

Wyoming § 21-3-110

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 21: Education
• Ch. 3: SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN GENERAL
• Art. 1: IN GENERAL

Text

(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, world 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 school facilities
commission 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 lease agreement shall separately identify
the amount to be expended on the major maintenance of the
building or facility during the term of the lease. The amount of
the total lease agreement to be expended on the major
maintenance shall be accounted for and reported separately and
shall not be transferred or expended for any purpose other than
major maintenance of the leased building or facility. No
expenditure shall be made from the funds dedicated for major
maintenance of a leased facility without the approval of the
district or the charter school. A district or charter school may
request review of the amount to be expended on major maintenance
for a lease by the school facilities division of the state
construction department to determine the reasonableness of the
major maintenance expense. 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 under W.S. 21-
3-301 through 21-3-314;
(II) Repealed by Laws 2025, ch. 24, § 2.
(III) Repealed by Laws 2024, ch. 11, § 1.
(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 be
equal to the lesser of the amount of the total lease agreement
or the average cost per square foot to lease buildings or
facilities comparable to those appropriate for public K-12
education multiplied by the allowable 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) and the
high school certificate of completion requirements imposed by
the state board under W.S. 21-2-304(a)(iv);
(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;
(xxxix) Define "unexcused absence", "habitual truant"
and "willful absenteeism" 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 programming or competitions sponsored
by nationally recognized organizations and clubs that promote
youth agricultural education, the annual state fair held under
W.S. 11-10-101 as an exhibitor or events associated with
participation in the annual state fair 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;
(xl) Upon receipt of the information that the
department of workforce services is required to provide under
W.S. 9-2-2602(b)(ix) and not later than sixty (60) days after
July 1, 2023:
(A) Establish guidelines to implement student
training and employment programs in schools in the district;
(B) Take all necessary steps to provide
appropriate school credit to students who complete student
training and employment programs offered in the district and
comply with the guidelines established pursuant to subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph;
(C) Annually give to each high school student in
the district information on apprenticeships, student learner
agreements and on-the-job training opportunities;
(D) Provide information as requested by the
department of workforce services to ensure compliance with
reports required under W.S. 9-2-2602(e).
(xli) Review and make a written determination whether
a transfer of enrollment shall be granted or denied under W.S.