Deciding When to Allow Members of the Public to Place Items on the School Board Meeting Agenda

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

Brown Act Refresher: Make Sure to Post Agendas on the District Website!

There are so  many complex ins and outs to the law, that's why we've decided to start posting "Refreshers" on some of the most common laws that school districts encounter, including the Brown Act, the California Public Records Act, conflicts of interest, discipline/dismissals, and leave.  These posts are intended to draw your attention to provisions of the law that might be overlooked or forgotten -- sometimes we just need a little refresher!

AB 1344, which went into effect on January 1, 2012, changes some of the requirements of the Brown Act.  AB 1344 requires local educational agencies that maintain a website to post the agenda of a regularly scheduled meeting at least 72 hours in advance on their website (and 24 hours in advance for special meetings).  Although AB 1344 doesn't change the timeline for posting notice, it requires that if a district has a website, that agendas must be posted on that website.

The full text of AB 1344 can be found here.

Meghan Covert Russell