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D208 – Conference Attendance

  • Effective: 8/27/1969
  • Revision: 9/8/2009
  1. Board Policy
    To help promote quality education in Jordan District schools, educators and administrative leaders shall be encouraged to participate in professional development activities including educational conferences and other events which provide opportunities to acquire knowledge, learn from state and national educational leaders, and keep abreast of new developments in the teaching profession. In addition, opportunities shall be provided to broaden perspectives as a safeguard against provincialism. The Board, therefore, authorizes the District Administration to develop guidelines for providing professional development experiences through conference participation within funding limitations.
  2. Administration Policy
    Participation in educational conferences and other professional development experiences shall be administered according to the following guidelines:
    Guidelines

    1. Conference selection and participation
      1. Efforts shall be made to take advantage of conferences and special institute programs conducted within the state and intermountain area.
      2. Efforts shall be made to obtain diversification in conference coverage and to provide an orderly rotation in conference participation.
      3. Individuals who have been assigned important leadership responsibilities and who are in positions to provide post-conference services to the District shall receive priority consideration as travel requests are reviewed.
      4. Individuals elected to national offices or who are invited by conference committees to participate as speakers or discussion group leaders shall receive priority consideration as travel requests are reviewed.
      5. Conference participants shall be encouraged to share materials and ideas with co-workers through in-service training sessions or other appropriate post-conference events identified by the Administrator of Schools.
    2. Allowances for conference expenses
      1. Allowances for expenses associated with conference attendance shall be provided according to the District travel authorization schedule.
      2. Special requests for partial payment of conference costs and the employment of substitutes shall be reviewed by the Administration.
    3. Procedures
      1. Conference requests shall be submitted by individuals or groups to the appropriate division administrator. Each request shall consist of three parts:
        1. A letter outlining the request and explaining the nature of the conference.
        2. A travel authorization form detailing the anticipated expenses.
        3. Copies of conference reservation information.
      2. Travel authorization requests shall be reviewed by the requester's supervisor and submitted to the appropriate division administrator for approval. Travel authorization requests for members of the Administrative Cabinet shall be submitted to the Superintendent for approval.
      3. Periodically, the Superintendent shall submit a report on conference activities to the Board.
    4. Participation
      1. School Principals
        1. An annual conference eligibility list shall be maintained. This list shall include the names of all principals and assistant principals and the year each one is eligible to attend a conference.
        2. Principals shall be authorized to attend a national conference once every four (4) years. National conference attendance is funded on the basis of the cost of registration, travel (air fare or automobile), lodging, and a District-authorized per diem for meals, gratuities, local travel, and other expenses. Principals desiring to attend an in-state conference, workshop or seminar during the year of their national conference rotation (every four years) may do so with the approval of the Administrator of Schools for their administrative area. Attendance at this conference is not at District expense.
        3. Principals requesting to attend in-state conferences, workshops, and seminars shall be approved on an individual basis by the Administrator of Schools. The Administrative Cabinet shall annually review and approve the amount that will be allowed for in-state conference expenses.
        4. Attendance at a conference by special request of the Board or Administration will not be included in the conference rotation.
        5. The principal and assistant principal working in the same school shall not be permitted to attend conferences simultaneously.
      2. District Office Staff
        1. An annual conference eligibility list, prepared by Division Administrators, shall be submitted for administrative approval. This list shall include nominations for participation in the current year's conference program and shall be the basis for conference attendance budgets.
        2. Conference attendance shall be determined by District needs and critical issues. Attendance shall be coordinated to assure that cabinet members do not all leave at the same time or attend the same conferences.
        3. District Administrators shall generally attend one national conference annually.
        4. Consultants, coordinators, and program specialists shall be authorized to attend a conference every two (2) years. Exceptions may be authorized by the Superintendent for those individuals who coordinate or direct multiple programs.
        5. Staff assistants maintain their conference participation rotation within the principal schedule.
        6. Attendance at a conference by special request of the Board or Administration will not be included in the conference rotation.
      3. Teachers
        1. Teachers shall submit requests for conference participation to their school principals. Schools are authorized a specific number of professional days to be used at the discretion of the principal. Otherwise, teachers or the organization they represent are responsible for their expenses. Approval for conference attendance will be given by the Superintendent upon the recommendation of the principal and Administrator of Schools provided the quota for professional days is not exceeded.
        2. Teacher conference travel shall be rotated so that representatives of all subject areas receive equal consideration.
        3. Travel requests for vocational teachers must comply with "a" and "b" above and must also be reviewed and endorsed by the respective vocational coordinator and the director of vocational education.
        4. Vocational education teachers assigned to supervise students attending conferences will have their expenses paid through vocational funds and are not included in the professional growth days.
      4. Students
        Requests for students or student groups to attend conferences shall be administered according to Policy AA414—Student Overnight Travel.