A California appellate court has ruled that a school board did not abuse its discretion when it refused to place an item on its agenda where the proposed item did not directly relate to school district business. The court held the school district had discretion to refuse an item proposed by a parent to change an activity at a middle school from one promoting anti-bullying awareness for gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender students to an “all inclusive anti-bullying day.” (Mooney v. Garcia (--- Cal.Rptr.3d ----, Cal.App. 6 Dist., June 26, 2012).
The Education Code allows members of the public to place an item on the governing board’s agenda where that item is directly related to district business. However, school districts do retain discretion to determine whether that item is “directly related to school district business” within the meaning of the Education Code. If the Governing Board determines that the agenda item is not directly related to school district business, then the district may refuse to allow the item to be placed on that meeting’s agenda.
For more information please see our Legal Alert.
Meghan Covert Russell
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