Boards of trustees may continue to hold remote meetings through March 31, 2023 under new legislation enacted last week.
The prior authorization for remote-only public meetings was set to expire on July 15, 2022. Several different bills to enact permanent changes to the remote access provisions of the Open Meeting Law have been under consideration, but the new statute simply extends the expiration date on several COVID-era rules.
Under the amended Open Meeting Law, a quorum of a board of trustees may meet remotely without the president or any other member being physically present in a meeting location. In addition, a board of trustees may continue to hold “hybrid” meetings, where the board meets in person and the public attends only through remote means so long as the public has “adequate, alternative means of public access” that provide “transparency and permit timely and effective public access to the deliberations of the public body, including, but not limited to, providing public access through telephone, internet, satellite enabled audio or video conferencing or any other technology that enables the public to clearly follow the proceedings of the public body.”
Individuals required to appear and present before a board of trustees must be given the same level of remote access as board members (being promoted to “panelist” or “presenter”, rather than simply observing a livecast or participating through audio only.)
The statute contains an emergency preamble and therefore takes effect immediately.
Please contact a member of Mirick O’Connell’s Charter School Group with specific questions on the new law.
