213.00 Public Participation in Board Meetings
The board recognizes the importance of citizen participation and encourages the community to participate in district matters. The public may participate in a public meeting of the board during the Communication from the Public portion of the meeting and/or by following established district procedures to request that the board place an item on the official meeting agenda.
State law prohibits the board from deliberating and/or taking action on items not publicly posted in a timely fashion in advance of a board meeting unless such action is necessary due to an emergency. Therefore, the board will not deliberate and/or take action on comments shared during Communication from the Public. To officially request that an item be added to the agenda for a Board of Education meeting, an individual must use the published district procedures to notify the superintendent/designee of the suggested item in sufficient time to meet notification requirements in Board Policy 204.60 Notice of Meetings.
To allow for maximum participation and timely completion of board meetings, the president/designee shall allow an individual addressing the board during Communication from the Public and/or in conjunction with an official agenda item three minutes for remarks, provided that an individual who is addressing the board on behalf of a formally-organized group may have up to five minutes to speak. The Board shall not authorize speakers addressing the board during Communication from the Public to yield their time to other members of the public for comments. The board reserves the right to extend, limit, and/or suspend community participation.
The Board of Education reserves the right to deliberate and take action on official agenda items and to table agenda item(s) for the purpose of further discussion.
The board shall not address comments about personnel and/or individual students that are confidential and/or otherwise protected by law.
Petition for Inclusion of Item on Board Agenda
If the board receives a petition signed by a number of the district’s eligible electors equal in number to at least ten percent of the persons who voted in the last preceding election of school officials under Iowa Code, or five hundred eligible electors, whichever is less, the board shall place the proposal specified in the petition on the agenda of the next regular meeting of the school board or on the agenda of a school board meeting held within thirty days of receipt of the petition.
If the proposal relates to curriculum, the district may halt use of the subject instructional materials until the board holds the meeting at which the proposal is presented and discussed. The meeting notice shall include a brief description of the proposal.
The board shall provide sufficient time to receive public comment on the proposal. The board shall allow each interested member of the public to speak at the meeting regarding the proposal, but may impose a time limit on the amount of time a member of the public is allowed to speak if the time limit is the same for each speaker and necessary due to the amount of people wishing to speak.
Legal Reference:
Iowa Code §§ 21; 22; 279.8
Cross Reference:
200.00 Statement of Guiding Principles
204.60 Notice of Meetings
204.90 Agenda Preparation
210.90 Consent Agenda
307.00 Resolution Protocols
400.56 Public Complaints About Employees
502.04 Student Complaints and Grievances
Adopted:
April 21, 2008
Reviewed:
February 16, 2009
March 24, 2014
May 20, 2019
October 19, 2020
June 20, 2021
October 6, 2022
Revised:
February 16, 2009
March 24, 2014
May 20, 2019
October 19, 2020
July 6, 2021
November 7, 2022