By New Jersey law, school boards are required to develop written policies governing their operations as a public body and the operation of the school district. This guide is intended to give board members and administrators a working knowledge of the policy process in local school district governance. Provided are background information, step-by-step instructions for developing policies, an action plan for district governance manual development, and a process for keeping a manual up to date. Bylaws are an internal mechanism for board organization and procedure. Four sample bylaws demonstrate content, format, language, indexing, and referencing. All local boards deal with the same policy topics: (1) community relations; (2) educational administration; (3) business and noninstructional operations; (4) instructional and support personnel; (5) students; (6) instruction, and (8) construction, remodeling, and renovation. Nine sample policies are provided. A sample action plan is provided for a district that lacks many policies and is embarking on a manual development project. The appendix contains the New Jersey School Boards Association codification system, divided into eight sections, each with its own index, identifying number, and descriptive title. (MLF)