Attending a School Board Meeting
TFSD Policy 4105 Public Participation in Board Meetings
All regular and special meetings of the Board shall be open to the public, but any person who disturbs good order may be required to leave. The Board of Trustees encourages all citizens of the District to express their ideas and concerns. During a time of Health Emergency, the Board may offer the ability to attend their meeting remotely, including the ability to submit patron input electronically ahead of time. Such electronically provided input shall be provided to the trustees. The comments of the community will be given careful consideration. In the evaluation of such comments, first priority will be District students and their educational program.
NOTICE
DUE TO THEIR SENSITIVE NATURE, COMMENTS OR COMPLAINTS ABOUT PERSONNEL OR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS WILL ONLY BE HEARD IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. ADDITIONALLY, OTHER TOPICS YOU WISH TO ADDRESS MAY ONLY BE APPROPRIATE FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION. IN SUCH INSTANCES, THE BOARD WILL DETERMINE IF YOUR COMMENTS ARE APPROPRIATE FOR OPEN OR EXECUTIVE SESSION AND WILL NOTIFY YOU ACCORDINGLY.
“A PERSON WHO DISRUPTS THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS OR WHOSE PRESENCE IS DETRIMENTAL TO THE MORALS, HEALTH, SAFETY, ACADEMIC LEARNING OR DISCIPLINE OF THE PUPILS OR WHO LOITERS IN SCHOOLHOUSES OR ON SCHOOL GROUNDS, IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR.”
Any complaint about the District, including instruction, discipline, District personnel policy, procedure or curriculum, should be referred through proper administrative channels before it is presented to the Board for consideration and action. All complaints should be resolved through proper channels in the following order:
- Teacher or staff
- Principal or supervisor
- Director or administrator
- Superintendent
- Board of Trustees
Please also see District Policy No. 4110 regarding public complaints.
Members of the public will not be recognized by the Chair as the Board conducts its official business except when the Board schedules public discussion period on a particular item. The Board will listen to the public but, at the same time, expects the public to listen and speak only when properly recognized.
At each Regular and Special meeting of the Board the agenda will provide time for public comment before the Board. Persons wishing to address the Board will be required to submit a “REQUEST TO ADDRESS THE BOARD” form. Forms are available from the Board Clerk and will be available at each meeting.
NOTE: There are two types of delegations available for the public to make comments to the Board. Unscheduled Delegations are comments related to a topic already on the school board agenda. Forms for this type of delegation may be submitted at the board meeting but must be received by the clerk in advance of the commencement of the meeting. Scheduled Delegations are comments that are not related to an agenda item and must be submitted no later than five days in advance of the school board meeting in order to be placed on the agenda.
Total time allotted for public comment will not exceed one (1) hour. Public participation will be limited to the time allotted on the agenda. Each speaker will be limited to three (3) minutes. Public comment will be taken from the public on matters scheduled on the agenda. Should a large number of members of the public wish to speak on the same issue or topic, members of the public are encouraged to select a representative(s) to summarize their position. Additionally, the Board Clerk will accept written comments for distribution to the Board. The Board may decline to hear repetitive comments. The Chair may also deny an individual the opportunity to address the Board if the individual has previously addressed the Board on the same subject within the past two months.
Written materials for Board Members must be submitted to the Board Clerk. The written material must include the name, address and telephone number of the person submitting it. A copy of the materials that meet these requirements will be forwarded to Board Members if received by noon the Friday preceding the Board Meeting. Materials should not be sent directly to Board Members. Materials may be presented, mailed to the Board Clerk at 201 Main Ave. W., Twin Falls, ID 83301, or emailed to the Board Clerk at lucasmi@tfsd.org
If a topic is being considered by a committee established for that purpose, the Chair may refer the public comment to that committee.
Because of the diversity of issues, members of the Board will not respond to public comment. Instead, issues may be recorded and referred to the proper staff person for follow-up. The Chair may interrupt or terminate an individual’s statement when it is too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, repetitive, or irrelevant. The Board of Trustees as a whole shall have the final decision in determining the appropriateness of all such rulings.
Nothing in this policy shall prohibit the removal of any person who willfully disrupts a meeting to the extent that orderly conduct is seriously compromised. Defamatory or abusive remarks are always out of order. The presiding officer may terminate the speaker’s privilege of address if, after being called to order, the speaker persists in improper conduct or remarks.
If a special meeting has been held to obtain public comment on a specific issue, the Chair of the Board may not recognize speakers wishing to comment on the same topic at a regular meeting of the Board.