Ethics Policies for School Districts

County, municipal and special school districts are considered separate governmental entities and are governed by ethical standards established by the board of education of the school district.  T.C.A. § 8-17-102(d).  The Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) must prepare a model of ethical standards for school officials and employees of school districts and file the model policy with the state ethics commission.  If a school board develops and adopts a standard of its own, it must forward a copy of that standard to the state ethics commission and maintain a copy for public inspection. School boards that adopt the standards promulgated by the TSBA are not required to file the policy with the commission, but rather, must notify the commission in writing that the policy has been adopted and the date such action was taken.  T.C.A. § 8-17-105.