The Leander School District's Board of Trustees made an important governance change when it adopted the Policy Governance® model.

Policy Governance® is a Board leadership approach developed by John and Miriam Carver that emphasizes community values, well-educated students, systems accountability, and efficient use of administration and Board time.

Under policy governance the board sets forth clear expectations for student results and sets executive expectations under which the administration operates. The results policies and executive expectations are set within the parameters of the resources and the values of the community.

Four categories of Board policies create the structure, as described below:

These policies prescribe how the Board will operate and effectively work together.

These policies define how the Board and Superintendent effectively work together, as well as how the Superintendent is evaluated by the Board.

These policies prescribe the desired outcomes in terms of student achievement.

These policies set boundaries within which the Superintendent must operate the school district.