Redline BC Board Meetings - January 13, 2025 - DCSD Board Meeting Archive

Board Policy Manual
DeKalb County School District

Board Policy BC: Board Mee ngs Status: DRAFT -
1st Reading

Original Adopted Date: 02/15/2012 | Last Revised Date: Pending | Last Reviewed Date:
08/20/2024

Red Lined Version

All mee ngs under this policy shall will be in accordance with the open mee ng
requirements of the State of Georgia.

BOARD MEETINGS

I. Procedures for Board Mee ngs

A. Board Mee ng No ﬁca on

For all mee ngs of the DeKalb County Board of Educa on and any Board commi ee,
a wri en no ce sta ng the me, place, and date of the mee ng shall be delivered to
each member not less than 24 hours before the mee ng.

All no ces of regular bBoard mee ngs no ces shall will willbe available to the
general public, and posted to the board website, as well as posted in the lobby of the
bBoard auditorium located at 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard, Stone Mountain,
at least one week in advance, as well as on the Board website. before the mee ng.

Wri en no ce shall willbewill be given at least 24 hours in advance of all other
bBoard and commi ee mee ngs giving to include the me, place, and date of such
mee ng (1) to all Board of Educa on members, (2) to the oﬃcial organ for legal
announcements,, district's legal organ, (32) by pos ng wri en no ce in the lobby of
the bBoard auditorium located at 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard, Stone
Mountain, GA, as well as (4) by pos ng on the bBoard website, and (53) to media
representa ves who have made a wri en request to receive such no ces.

When special or emergency circumstances occurA mee ng may be held and are so
declared by the bBoard or commi ee, a mee ng may be held with less than 24-
hours’ no ce under special or emergency circumstances. The mee ng No ce for the
mee ng will contain a list of upon giving such no ce of the mee ng and subjects
expected to be considered at the mee ng. as is reasonable under the circumstances.
Wri en No ce willshall be given (1) to the legal organ andorgan, and (2) to any other
media representa ve who has made a wri en request to receive such no ces within
the previous calendar year. The reason for holding the mee ng within 24 hours and
the nature of the no ce will shall be recorded in the minutes.

B. Board Mee ng Agendas

The Chair and Superintendent shall will confer to develop the agenda for Board
mee ngs. The Board mee ng agenda shall be properly developed consistent with a
good order of business. The agenda will shall include all ma ers expected to come
before the bBoard or commi ee at such mee ng. The agenda will shall be available
upon request and shall will be posted at the mee ng site, as soon as possible during
the two-week period immediately prior to the mee ng. far in advance of the
mee ng as reasonably possible, but shall not be required to be available more than
two weeks prior to the mee ng and will shall be posted, at a minimum, at some me
during the two-week period immediately prior to the mee ng. Failure to include on
the agenda an item which becomes necessary to address during the course of a
mee ng will not preclude considering and ac ng upon such itemIf it becomes
necessary to do so, the Board may consider and act on items not included on the
agenda.

The agenda will shall be provided at least 24 hours prior to the mee ng for members
of the bBoard to have an opportunity to suggest items to be removed from or placed
on the agenda and to ask for addi onal informa on on an agenda item. Board
members will be provided with the agenda at least 24 hours in advance of the
mee ng for the purpose of asking for 1) items to be removed from the agenda, 2)
items to be added to the agenda, and 3) addi onal informa on on the agenda item.
The bBoard willshall has the op on to use a consent agenda procedure when
appropriate, and the agenda willshall be followed once approved. The bBoard
willshall depart from the agenda only when it becomes necessary to do so as
determined by the concurrence of a majority of the members present.

C. Rules of Order

Board mee ngs willshall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order
Revised to the extent in conformance with state law. Board Policies willshall take
precedence when in conﬂict with Robert’s Rules of Order Revised.

The Board a orney General Counsel willshall act as parliamentarian.

D. Board Mee ng Quorum

E. Four members of the Board shall cons tute a quorum at any mee ng, monthly or
special. If a quorum is not present at a mee ng, the mee ng shall be adjourned and
reconvened at the call of the Chair. At such a called mee ng, if a quorum is present,
any business may be transacted which might have been transacted at the originally
scheduled mee ng.

Four members of the Board shall will cons tute a quorum at any mee ng, monthly or special called
board mee ng. If a quorum is not present, the mee ng shall will be adjourned and reconvened by
the cChair at a me when a quorum is present.

I. Formatted: Indent: Left: 0.5", No bullets or numbering
A.F. Electronic Par cipa on of Board Members Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
Formatted: List Paragraph, Outline numbered + Level:
So long as a quorum is present in person, any members may par cipate in bBoard 2 + Numbering Style: A, B, C, … + Start at: 1 +
and commi ee mee ngs by teleconference if necessary due to reasons of health or Alignment: Right + Aligned at: 0.75" + Tab after: 1" +
absent from the jurisdic on. The board chair may approve if a board member Indent at: 1"
provides suﬃcient reason for a ending by teleconference as set fourthin accordance Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
with in the Open Mee ngs Act. Members present at a duly cons tuted mee ng of
the Board must approve a member’s request for par cipa on under the provisions of Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
this Sec on E. Such par cipa ng member shall be included in votes recorded during
the mee ng. Absent emergency condi ons or the wri en opinion of a physician or
other health professional that reasons of health prevent a member’s physical
presence, no members willshall par cipate by teleconference more than twice in one Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
calendar year under this Sec on E.Such par cipa ng member will be included in
votes recorded during the mee ng. Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt

There willshall not be a majority of the Board members par cipa ng in any bBoard or Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
commi ee mee ng by electronic communica on. Any provisions under state law Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
which contradict the foregoing willshall be controlling.
Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
B.G. Vo ng Method Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt

All members present at a mee ng, whether physically in person or electronically by Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
teleconference par cipa ng under Sec on E above, will shall be eligible to
Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
vote. There willshall be no representa on by proxy of any bBoard member at any
mee ng. Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
II. II. Types of Board Mee ngs
Formatted: No bullets or numbering

A. Board Business Mee ngs

There willshall be a business mee ng of the bBoard each month at a me and date
determined annually in January by the bBoard and announced by adver sement in
two consecu ve issues of the district's oﬃcial legal organ for legal
announcements. Generally, Board Business Mee ngs shall be held on the ﬁrst
Monday of each month. The bBoard may modify this schedule as allowed by law.

Such mee ngs shall be in accordance with the open mee ng requirements of
the State of Georgia, and at these mee ngs the Board shall transact business
properly brought before it.

If the date of a mee ng falls on a legal holiday in Georgia, such mee ngs may be held
on the next succeeding business day. The ﬁrst mee ng held in January of each year
willshall include any required organiza onal ma ers including, but not limited to, the
elec on of a chair and vice-chair, aﬃrma on of compliance with board policies
about the Board ethics and conﬂict of interest policies BH and BHA and other items
as required by law or policy.

B. Board Work Sessions

The Board will hold a Work Session on the same day as the Business Mee ng, and at
such other mes as needed. The Board may schedule work sessions as it deems
appropriate.

Such mee ngs shall be in accordance with the open mee ng requirements of the
State of Georgia, and Tthese mee ngs willshall be designed for the prepara on of to
prepare the consent agenda for the Business Mee ng, to address other policy and
legisla ve ma ers and for in-depth presenta ons on school system opera ons. It is
the intent that Work Sessions are not designed for formal vote to be taken, but if
ac on is needed on an board ac on is allowed for emergency or me-sensi ve item,
speciﬁc ac on may be taken.

C. Community Mee ngs

Community mee ngs providing for public comments shall will be conducted in
accordance with Policy BCBI. Such mee ngs shall will be in accordance with the
open mee ng requirements of the State of Georgia.

D. Special Board Mee ngs

Special mee ngs may be called for any purpose by the chair, the superintendent, or
through the chair at the request of a majority of the board. Special mee ngs of the
Board for any purpose may be called by the Chair, by the Superintendent as
secretary ex-oﬃcio to the Board, or through the Chair at the request of a majority of
members. Such mee ngs shall be in accordance with the open mee ng
requirements of the State of Georgia.

oE. Execu ve Sessions Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
Formatted: List Paragraph, Outline numbered + Level:
Execu ve session means a por on of a mee ng lawfully closed to the public. In 2 + Numbering Style: A, B, C, … + Start at: 1 +
compliance with the open mee ng requirements of the State of Georgia, no closed Alignment: Right + Aligned at: 0.75" + Tab after: 1" +
mee ngs of the bBoard or any commi ee of the bBoard willshall be devoted to the Indent at: 1"
considera on, discussion or presenta on of ma ers required by law to be presented,
Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
considered or discussed in open mee ngs. In the event that one or more persons in
an execu ve session ini ates a discussion that is not authorized by law, the cChair or Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
presiding member willshall immediately rule the discussion out of order and all Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
present willshall cease the ques oned conversa on. If one or more persons Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
con nue or a empt to con nue the discussion a er being ruled out of order, the
chair presiding oﬃcer willshall immediately adjourn the execu ve session. Reasons Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
for closing the mee ng include: Ccybersecurity plans, procedures, contracts, student Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
discipline appeals, real estate acquisi ons, individual personnel ma ers, pending or Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
poten al Li ga ons, or an other ma ers that are required or permi ed by law to be
Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
addressed in closed mee ngs.
Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt
A.F. Annual Board Retreats Formatted: Font: Lato, 11 pt

At least once each year, the bBoard and the sSuperintendent willshall conduct a
retreat to:

1. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the District; Formatted: Outline numbered + Level: 3 + Numbering
Style: 1, 2, 3, … + Start at: 1 + Alignment: Right +
2. Consider any compelling problems or emerging issues; Aligned at: 1.25" + Tab after: 1.5" + Indent at: 1.5"
3. Study and explore trends, opportuni es, and an cipated challenges;

4. Develop and/or review goals;

5. Reﬂect on its educa onal and leadership philosophy and performance; and

6. Conduct a self-assessment of the bBoard’s ac vi es and opera ons.

Such retreat shall be held in accordance with the open mee ng requirements of the
State of Georgia.

G. Public Hearings

The bBoard willshall conduct provide periodic public forums from me to me,
especially when dealing with controversial issues or ma ers of deep community
concern, to receive input from ci zens on policy issues, the educa onal program, and
school administra on. Such forums shall be in accordance with the open mee ng
requirements of the State of Georgia.

H. Commi ee Mee ngs

Ad hoc Board commi ee mee ngs shall held as set out in Board Policy BBC, Board
Commi ees. Such mee ngs shall be in accordance with the open mee ng
requirements of the State of Georgia.

Policy Reference Disclaimer:
These references are not intended to be part of the policy itself, nor do they indicate the basis or authority
for the board to enact this policy. Instead, they are provided as addi onal resources for those interested in the
subject ma er of the policy.

Note: To access the policy references, CLICK HERE: State of Georgia Terms and Condi ons and close the
LexisNexis tab, which will return you to the policy. Click on the links below to be taken to each speciﬁc
code. You should only have to do this one me per session.

State Descrip on
O.C.G.A. 20-02-0058 Regular monthly mee ng of local boards; adjournment;
temporary presiding oﬃcer; no ce of date; template for
ﬁnancial review; open mee ngs

O.C.G.A. 50-14-0001 Open Mee ngs Act; no ce; minutes; telecommunica on
conferences

O.C.G.A. 50-14-0002 Open Mee ngs Act: Certain privileges not repealed
O.C.G.A. 50-14-0003 Excluded proceedings

O.C.G.A. 50-14-0004 Closed mee ng procedures

O.C.G.A. 50-14-0005 Jurisdic on to enforce Open Mee ngs Act

O.C.G.A. 50-14-0006 Penalty for viola on of Open Mee ngs Act; defense

Agenda Item