Consideration of the Open Meetings Law and Board Transparency

1. Consideration of the Open Meetings Law and Board Transparency A School Board Team Discussion Tool Click here to continue

2. Why the Law Is Important The open meetings law is important to Iowa school boards, not only because their decisions impact the use of Iowa tax dollars, but also because their decisions impact the futures of Iowa children. Thus, the public has very important reasons for gaining complete access to board decisions. It is in the board’s best interests that the public understand the reasons for their decisions. Click here to continue

3. The Law: Course Overview The law is very specific. Let’s consider some of the aspects of the law as we think about nine true or false questions, contemplate a specific scenario and discuss two open-ended questions. Click here to continue

4. True or False? After you have chosen true or false, explain to your fellow board members why you made that choice; then click on the identifying letter of the question to find the correct answer. Caution: Don’t forget to talk about the “why” before you check your answer. A. True or False: Votes will never be taken in a closed session. True or False: If six members are present from a seven-member board, they may go into closed session if four members vote to do so. This is because two-thirds of them voted yes. B. Click here to continue to next page

5. True or False? After you have chosen true or false, explain to your fellow board members why you made that choice; then click on the identifying letter of the question to find the correct answer. Caution: Don’t forget to talk about the “why” before you check your answer. True or False: Our meeting packet is sent from our superintendent to the whole board and, therefore, should be available for any member of the public to view. C. True or False: If the board always holds its meeting at a set time (for example: always the second Monday of the month), the agenda does not need to be posted in advance, since the public already knows the board is meeting. D. Click here to continue to next page

6. True or False? After you have chosen true or false, explain to your fellow board members why you made that choice; then click on the identifying letter of the question to find the correct answer. Caution: Don’t forget to talk about the “why” before you check your answer. E. True or False: In a closed session, both detailed written minutes and a tape-recording will be kept of the meeting proceedings. True or False: In an exempt session, both written minutes and a tape-recording will be kept of the meeting. F. Click here to continue to next page

7. True or False? After you have chosen true or false, explain to your fellow board members why you made that choice; then click on the identifying letter of the question to find the correct answer. Caution: Don’t forget to talk about the “why” before you check your answer. True or False: The board has gone into closed session to conduct a hearing to expel a student. While in the closed session it is fine for the board to also discuss potential disciplinary action for the teacher involved in the incident. G. True or False: As the open meeting law is enforced, ignorance of the law is not a defense. H. Click here to continue to next page

8. True or False? After you have chosen true or false, explain to your fellow board members why you made that choice; then click on the identifying letter of the question to find the correct answer. Caution: Don’t forget to talk about the “why” before you check your answer. I. True or False: The board meeting is a meeting in the public, not of the public. Click here to continue to next page

9. Consider the Following Scenario: You are approached by a close friend and neighbor, Mr. Sincere. He says: “You know, I wouldn’t usually ask this of you, but I am really frustrated. Last night you expelled Tommy Trouble. I work with Mrs. Trouble, who is really a nice person. Mrs. Trouble was in my office this morning in tears. She says the board was unfair and didn’t take all the circumstances of Tommy’s situation into account. The board was in closed session for half an hour. She was in the closed session with Tommy and thought everything was going Tommy’s way, and then the board just came out and voted 4-1 for expulsion. You were that one. Help me understand what the board was thinking? I just don’t get it. Why would you think he should not be expelled and the rest of the board thought he should? What did you hear in there that made you vote no? What did the rest of the board hear that made them so vindictive? Mrs. Trouble was just too upset to even talk about it. You can trust me not to say anything, but let me know what really happened so I can understand this. I don’t want to lose faith in my school board.” Click here to continue to next page

10. What Will You Do? Consider the three options below. After you have considered the merit and workability of each one and discussed them as a board, then click on each one to view what IASB has learned about each of these options. A. Tell your neighbor that you simply can’t talk about what goes on in closed session. When he presses you, walk away. B. Tell your neighbor the rest of the board was clearly wrong. You voted according to what you heard. You feel that Mr. and Mrs. Trouble blamed the principal and shouted at the superintendent and that didn’t help their son. Their behavior made the rest of the board angry, therefore biasing the board. Give him a couple of examples of what made the rest of the board so angry and clarify your position. C. Invent your own response: What would you do? Be specific. Click here to continue to next page

11. Additional Discussion Discuss this question as a board. After you have conducted this discussion, click on “final thoughts” at the bottom of this section to review some of IASB’s thinking in this area. Dr. David Benson, Superintendent of the Cedar Rapids school district, has said, “Board members can get into trouble by not being transparent, by calling, emailing and making decisions outside of an open meeting. They cannot manipulate the process of reaching an agreement in the public view through a public meeting.” How might your board increase transparency? Why is this important for your board? What are some actions your board could take to better inform your public of the importance of decisions the board makes and the reasons for those decisions? Final Thoughts

12. Additional Discussion Discuss this question as a board. After you have conducted this discussion, click on “final thoughts” at the bottom of this section to review some of IASB’s thinking in this area. Think of a tough decision your board has made, one that might have tempted your board to meet away from the public view and just “hash things out.” How did you, as a board, work hard to inform the public of the rationale for your decision? What happened in the public view that ensured the community had the opportunity to learn, as you learned as a board, about the factors influencing your decision? How might you have improved on this communication? Final Thoughts

13. Final Thoughts: Discussion Question #1 Any time you are discussing the open meetings law it is important to focus on the intent of the law. These laws are sometimes called “sunshine” laws…letting the sun shine in, illuminating the work of the board. Any use of technology (conference calls, e-mailing) that clouds the work of the board, keeping it from the public view, is suspect. Stop and think…is this information the whole board needs? If so, then it should be made available to the public view. The board’s focus needs to be on getting needed information out to the public, not hiding it. The board’s focus needs to be on letting the public see them struggling with decisions and doing their best to use solid information to make the best decisions they can. Click here to advance to Discussion Question #2

14. Final Thoughts: Discussion Question #2 One of the biggest temptations regarding open meetings is not even illegal! It is not illegal for two members of a five-member board or two or three members of a seven-member board to just “hash it out” away from the meeting table. While not illegal, this can be very damaging to the board and does violate the intent of the law. It can make other members of the board feel that the whole board is not involved in decision-making. It can quickly make the public perceive that decisions are “mysteriously” made prior to the actual board meeting. If information is learned outside the board meeting, ask the superintendent to circulate that information to the whole board and let the superintendent decide if it is information that can responsibly be shared with the whole board and therefore be part of the public view. As a board, develop some pro and con “talking points” around difficult decisions and let the public know you are considering the pros and cons. You are a thoughtful, objective school board. Let the public see you that way. Click here to continue to next page

15. References IASB Open Meeting and Public Records Manual Open Meetings and Public Records Overview Iowa Code Chapter 21