Policy 206

206 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS/COMPLAINTS ABOUT PERSONS AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS AND DATA PRIVACY CONSIDERATIONS

 

I. PURPOSE

A. The school board recognizes the value of participation by the public in deliberations and decisions on school district matters. At the same time, the school board recognizes the importance of conducting orderly and efficient proceedings, with opportunity for expression of all participants’ respective views.

B. The purpose of this policy is to provide procedures to assure open and orderly public discussion as well as to protect the due process and privacy rights of individuals under the law.

II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY

A. The policy of the school board is to encourage discussion by persons of subjects related to the management of the school district at school board meetings. The school board may adopt reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on public expression in order to facilitate free discussion by all interested parties.

B. The school board shall, as a matter of policy, protect the legal rights to privacy and due process of employees and students.

C. The school board affirms that the restrictions set forth in this policy are content-neutral and viewpoint-neutral. Nothing in this policy shall be construed to prohibit a member of the public from expressing criticism of the school district, the school board, the superintendent, or district operations. The limitations in this policy address the time, place, and manner of expression and the protection of not-public data — not the viewpoint of the speaker.

 

III. DEFINITIONS

A. “Personnel data” means government data on individuals maintained because the individual is or was an employee or applicant for employment. For purposes of this policy, “employee” includes a volunteer or an independent contractor.

B. Personnel data on current and former employees that is “public” includes:

Name; employee identification number, which must not be the employee’s social security number; actual gross salary; salary range; terms and conditions of employment relationship; contract fees; actual gross pension; the value and nature of employer paid fringe benefits; the basis for and the amount of any added remuneration, including expense reimbursement, in addition to salary; bargaining
unit; job title; job description; education and training background; previous work experience; date of first and last employment; the existence and status of any complaints or charges against the employee, regardless of whether the complaint or charge resulted in a disciplinary action; the final disposition of any disciplinary action as defined in Minn. Stat. § 13.43, Subd. 2(b), together with the specific reasons for the action and data documenting the basis of the action, excluding data that would identify confidential sources who are employees of the public body; the complete terms of any agreement settling any dispute arising out of the
employment relationship, including a buyout agreement as defined in Minn. Stat. § 123B.143, Subd. 2, except that the agreement must include specific reasons for the agreement if it involves the payment of more than $10,000 of public money; work location; work telephone number; badge number; work-related continuing education; honors and awards received; and payroll time sheets or other
comparable data that are only used to account for employee’s work time for payroll purposes, except to the extent that release of time sheet data would reveal the employee’s reasons for the use of sick or other medical leave or other not public data.
 

C. Personnel data on current and former applicants for employment that is “public” includes:

Veteran status; relevant test scores; rank on eligible list; job history; education and training; and work availability. Names of applicants shall be private data except when certified as eligible for appointment to a vacancy or when applicants are considered by the appointing authority to be finalists for a position in public employment. For purposes of this subdivision, “finalist” means an individual who is selected to be interviewed by the appointing authority prior to selection.

D. “Educational data” means data maintained by the school district which relates to a student.

E. “Student” means an individual currently or formerly enrolled or registered in the school district, or applicants for enrollment, or individuals who receive shared time services.

F. Data about applicants for appointments to a public body, including a school board, collected by the school district as a result of the applicant’s application for appointment to the public body are private data on individuals, except that the following are public: name; city of residence, except where the appointment has a residency requirement that requires the entire address to be public; education and training; employment history; volunteer work; awards and honors; prior government service; any data required to be provided or that is voluntarily provided in an application to a multi member agency pursuant to Minn. Stat. §15.0597; and veteran status. Once an individual has been appointed to a public body, the following additional items of data are public: residential address; either
a telephone number or electronic mail address where the appointee can be reached, or both at the request of the appointee; the first and last dates of service on the public body; the existence and status of any complaints or charges against an appointee; and, upon completion of an investigation of a complaint or charge against an appointee, the final investigative report unless access to the data would jeopardize an active investigation. Any electronic mail address or telephone number provided by a public body for use by an appointee shall be public. An appointee may use an electronic mail address or telephone number provided by the public body as the designated electronic mail address or telephone number at which the appointee can be reached.

 

IV. RIGHTS TO PRIVACY

A. School district employees have a legal right to privacy related to matters which may come before the school board, including, but not limited to, the following:

1. right to a private hearing for teachers, pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 122A.40, Subd. 14 (Teachers Discharge Hearing);

2. right to privacy of personnel data as provided by Minn. Stat. § 13.43 (Personnel Data);

3. right to consideration by the school board of certain data treated as not public as provided in Minn. Stat. § 13D.05 (Not Public Data);

4. right to a private hearing for licensed or non-licensed head varsity coaches to discuss reasons for nonrenewal of a coaching contract pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 122A.33, Subd. 3.

B. School district students have a legal right to privacy related to matters which may come before the school board, including, but not limited to, the following:

1. right to a private hearing, Minn. Stat. § 121A.47, Subd. 5 (Student Dismissal Hearing);

2. right to privacy of educational data, Minn. Stat. § 13.32 (Educational Data); 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (FERPA);

3. right to privacy of complaints as provided by child abuse reporting and discrimination laws, Minn. Stat. § 626.556 (Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors) and Minn. Stat. Ch. 363A (Minnesota Human Rights Act).
 

V. THE PUBLIC’S OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD

The school board will strive to give all persons an opportunity to be heard and to have complaints considered and evaluated, within the limits of the law and this policy and subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. Among the rights available to the public is the right to access public data as provided by Minn. Stat. § 13.43, Subd. 2 (Public Data).

The school district provides two distinct opportunities for public engagement: (1) a Pre-Meeting Informational Session, as described in Section VI.A., which is an administrative session hosted by the superintendent and intended for dialogue; and (2) an Open Forum public comment period during the regular school board meeting, as described in Section VI.C., which is intended for the receipt of public comment by the school board, and subject to the guidelines as incorporated by Policy 206.1 addendum.
 

VI. PROCEDURES

* Time, Place, and Manner Guidelines for Regular School Board Meetings and Public Comments will be observed as approved by the Board on 9/29/2021.
 

A. Pre-Meeting Informational Sessions

1. Purpose and Schedule. Prior to each regular school board meeting, the school district will host a Pre-Meeting Informational Session from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The purpose of the session is to allow members of the public to engage in conversation with district leadership regarding school district matters in a less formal setting than the regular meeting. These sessions can be discontinued at any time in the future and will not be live streamed.

2. Composition. The Pre-Meeting Informational Session shall consist of the superintendent, members of the district leadership team as available, and no more than two (2) members of the school board. The superintendent shall establish a schedule for school board member participation. The number of school board members in attendance shall at no time exceed two. If a third school board member arrives, that member shall not participate in the session, and the superintendent shall advise the member.

3. Not a Meeting of the School Board. Because attendance by school board members is limited to fewer than a quorum, the Pre-Meeting Informational Session is not a meeting of the school board under Minn. Stat. Ch. 13D. The session is an administrative session hosted by the superintendent. Notwithstanding, the session is open to the public, and all data privacy limitations set forth in this policy apply with equal force to the session.

4. No Deliberation and No Board Action. No official action shall be taken at a Pre-Meeting Informational Session. No votes shall be taken and no decision, consensus, or agreement on any matter that is or may come before the school board shall be reached or sought. School board members attending the session participate in their individual capacity; statements made by an individual school board member reflect that member's own views and do not constitute a position of the school board. School board members shall not use the session, individually or serially across sessions, to discuss matters pending before the school board with one another in a manner that would circumvent the Open Meeting Law.

5. Speaking Time. Each participant who wishes to speak shall be allotted five (5) minutes. The superintendent, in consultation with the school board members in attendance, may extend the time allotted to any participant. In no event shall the total duration of the Pre-Meeting Informational Session exceed sixty (60) minutes.

6. Sign-Up. Persons wishing to speak at a Pre-Meeting Informational Session are encouraged to notify the superintendent's office in advance and shall sign in upon arrival, providing name, city of residence, the name of the group represented (if any), and the subject to be addressed. Speakers will be recognized in the order in which they sign in. The superintendent's office shall retain the sign-in record and a record of school board member attendance.

7. Presiding Officer. The superintendent, or the superintendent's designee, shall preside over the Pre-Meeting Informational Session and shall administer the provisions of Sections VI.B.5. through VI.B.11. of this policy.

8. Follow-Up. Matters raised at a Pre-Meeting Informational Session that require action or response shall be handled through appropriate administrative channels. The superintendent shall report to the full school board, in the regular board packet, a summary of the topics raised at the session.

9. Relationship to Open Forum. Participation in a Pre-Meeting Informational Session neither entitles a person to, nor disqualifies a person from, addressing the school board during the Open Forum period of the regular meeting.

B. Complaints

1. Routine complaints about a teacher or other employee should first be directed to that teacher or employee or to the employee's immediate supervisor.

2. If the complaint is against an employee relating to child abuse, discrimination, racial, religious, or sexual harassment, or other activities involving an intimidating atmosphere, the complaint should be directed to the employee's supervisor or other official as designated in the school district policy governing that kind of complaint. In the absence of a designated person, the matter should be referred to the superintendent.

3. Unresolved complaints from Paragraph 1. of this section or problems concerning the school district should be directed to the superintendent's office.

4. Complaints which are unresolved at the superintendent's level may be brought before the school board by notifying the school board in writing.

5. A school board meeting, a Pre-Meeting Informational Session, and the Open Forum period are not the appropriate venue for the presentation of a complaint about an identifiable school district employee or student. Such complaints shall be processed under this Section VI.C. and under the applicable school district complaint policy.

C. Open Forum (Public Comment)

1. The school board shall normally provide a specified period of time during each regular school board meeting when persons may address the school board on any topic, whether or not the topic relates to an item on the meeting agenda, subject to the limitations of this policy.

2. Total Time. The Open Forum period shall not exceed a total of 7 speakers at twenty-one minutes (21) during each regular school board meeting.

3. Individual Time. Each speaker shall be allotted three (3) minutes. Speaking time may not be ceded, donated, or transferred to another speaker.

4. Sign-Up. Persons wishing to address the school board during the Open Forum shall sign up with the superintendent's office / board clerk by filling out a Request to Speak card, prior to the call to order, providing name, city of residence, the name of the group represented (if any), and the topic. If the number of persons signed up exceeds the limit of speakers (7), the order of speakers will be determined at the Board Chair’s discretion. Speakers not reached will be given priority at the next regular meeting and are invited to attend the next Pre-Meeting Informational Session.

5. Board Response. The Open Forum is an opportunity for the school board to receive public comment. The school board will not ordinarily respond to or debate comments during the Open Forum. However, the superintendent reserves the right to respond.

6. Livestream of the Open Forum. The Open Forum (public comment) period shall be livestreamed or otherwise broadcast by the school district.

7. The school board reserves the right to allocate a specific period of time for this purpose and limit time for speakers accordingly.

8. The school board may decide to hold certain types of public meetings where the public will not be invited to address the school board. Possible examples are work sessions and board retreats. The public will still be entitled to notice of these meetings and will be allowed to attend these meetings, but the public will not be allotted time during the meeting to address the board.

D. No Board Action at Same Meeting

Except as determined by the school board to be necessary or in an emergency, the school board will not take ake action at the same meeting on an item raised for the first time by the public.

 

VII. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF DATA PRIVACY

A. The school district is liable for damages, costs and attorneys’ fees, and, in the event of a willful violation, punitive damages for violation of state data privacy laws. (Minn. Stat. § 13.08, Subd. 1)

B. A person who willfully violates data privacy or whose conduct constitutes the knowing unauthorized acquisition of not public data is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Minn. Stat. § 13.09)

C. In the case of an employee, willful violation of the Minnesota data practices law, Chapter 13, and any rules adopted thereunder, including any action subject to a criminal penalty, constitutes just cause for suspension without pay or dismissal. (Minn. Stat. § 13.09)

 

Legal References:
Minn. Stat. Ch. 13 (Minnesota Government Data Practices Act)
Minn. Stat. § 13.43 (Personnel Data)
Minn. Stat. § 13.601, Subd. 3 (Applicants for Appointment)
Minn. Stat. Ch. 13D (Open Meeting Law)
Minn. Stat. § 13D.05 (Meetings Having Data Classified as Not Public)
Minn. Stat. § 121A.47, Subd. 5 (Student Dismissal Hearing)
Minn. Stat. § 122A.33, Subd. 3 (Coaches; Opportunity to Respond)
Minn. Stat. § 122A.40, Subd. 14 (Teacher Discharge Hearing)
Minn. Stat. § 122A.44 (Contracting with Teachers)
Minn. Stat. § 123B.02, Subd. 14 (Employees; Contracts for Services)
Minn. Stat. § 123B.143, Subd. 2 (Disclose Past Buyouts or Contract is Void)
Minn. Stat. Ch. 260E (Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors)
Minn. Stat. Ch. 363A (Minnesota Human Rights Act)
Minn. Stat. § 626.556 (Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors)
20 U.S.C. § 1232g (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
Minn. Op. Atty. Gen. 852 (July 14, 2006)

 

Cross References:

MSBA/MASA Model Policy 205 (Open Meetings and Closed Meetings)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 207 (Public Hearings)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 406 (Public and Private Personnel Data)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 515 (Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records)
MSBA Service Manual, Chapter 13, School Law Bulletin “C” (Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law)
MSBA Service Manual, Chapter 13, School Law Bulletin “I” (School Records – Privacy – Access to Data)