(1)
Regular meetings of the board of education of a school district shall be held at the
time and place provided for in its bylaws. Special meetings may be called by the
president at any time, and shall be called by him upon written request of a majority
of the members of the board.
(2) (a) The secretary of the board shall cause written notice of any special
meeting to be mailed or delivered to each member of the board stating the time,
place, and purpose of the meeting; if the notice is delivered, it shall be in the hands
of the member no later than twenty-four hours prior to the hour set for the meeting,
and if it is mailed, it shall be mailed no later than seventy-two hours prior to the
hour set for the meeting.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) to
the contrary, if the department of education determines that a school district is
rural, based on the geographic size of the school district and the distance of the
school district from the nearest large, urbanized area, and the school district
enrolls six thousand five hundred or fewer students in kindergarten through twelfth
grade, the secretary of the board for the school district may comply with the
provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) by delivering the written notice of
a special meeting to each board member by electronic mail at least twenty-four
hours before the hour set for the meeting.
(3) Any member may waive notice of the time, place, and purpose of a
special meeting at any time before, during, or after such meeting, and attendance
thereat shall be deemed to be a waiver.
(4) At any special meeting, no business other than that stated in the notice of
said meeting shall be transacted, unless all members are present and shall consent
to consider and transact other business.
(5) (a) All regular and special meetings of the board shall be open to the
public, but the board may require any person who disturbs good order to leave. At
any regular or special meeting the board may proceed in executive session in
accordance with the requirements of this paragraph (a) and paragraph (d) of this
subsection (5). Only those persons invited by the board may be present during
executive session, and the board shall not make final policy decisions while in
executive session. At the special meeting of the board called pursuant to section
22-32-104 (1), each board member shall sign an affidavit stating that the board
member is aware of and will comply with the confidentiality requirements and
restrictions applicable to executive sessions of the board, as described in section
24-6-402, C.R.S., regardless of whether the board member participates in the
executive session in person or electronically in accordance with the board policy
adopted pursuant to subsection (7) of this section. The school district shall keep
and preserve the affidavits with the minutes of board meetings and other board
documents.
(b) The board shall make a recording of each regular and special meeting of
the board at which votes are taken and recorded and shall make the recording
available to the public. The board, at its discretion, shall use appropriate technology
that is available within the school district at the time the recording is made and
shall, at a minimum, make an audio recording. An individual or entity may request a
copy of a recording and shall pay the costs the board incurs in providing the copy,
pursuant to section 24-72-205, C.R.S.
(c) The board shall institute a policy requiring, at a minimum, retaining
recordings of board meetings made pursuant to this subsection (5) for a minimum
of ninety days.
(d) In the case of a meeting of a board of education during which an
executive session is held, the minutes of the meeting must indicate the topic of the
discussion at the executive session as well as the amount of time each topic was
discussed while the board was meeting in executive session. The minutes along
with the amount of time each topic was discussed must be posted on the website of
the board not later than ten business days following the meeting at which the
minutes are approved by the board. If the board does not maintain a website, the
minutes must be published in the same manner as the board regularly provides
public notice. The board shall comply with all other requirements pertaining to the
holding of a meeting in executive session including, without limitation, those
specified in section 24-6-402 (2)(d.5)(II)(A), C.R.S.
(e) Notwithstanding section 24-6-402 (2)(d.5)(II)(E), C.R.S., the record of an
executive session of a board of education that is electronically recorded pursuant
to section 24-6-402 (2)(d.5)(II)(A), C.R.S., including, without limitation, the actual
electronic recording of the executive session, must be retained for at least ninety
days after the date of the executive session.
(6) All voting at any meeting shall be by roll call. The names of the members
shall be called alphabetically, and each member present shall orally vote Aye or
No upon each question unless excused from voting by the board for good cause.
Election of the president and vice-president may be by secret ballot.
(7) (a) The board may adopt a policy authorizing board members to attend
and participate in regular or special meetings electronically. At a minimum, the
policy must ensure that a meeting at which one or more board members participate
electronically is open to the public and that the members who participate
electronically are included in the recording made in accordance with paragraph (b)
of subsection (5) of this section. A member who participates electronically in
conformance with the policy is considered present for purposes of subsections (4)
and (6) of this section.
(b) It is the intent of the general assembly that a board that adopts a policy
authorized in subsection (7)(a) of this section to allow board members to attend and
participate electronically in regular or special board meetings ensures that the
policy:
(I) Requires a quorum of the board, including members physically present
and members attending electronically, to convene a meeting;
(II) Allows members of the board to attend the meeting electronically only
when there are extenuating circumstances, as described in the board's policy;
(III) Leaves discretion to the board to decide the maximum number of board
meetings that a member may attend electronically before the member's position is
declared to be vacant;
(IV) Requires the board to have technology in place that ensures that
members of the public can hear the comments made by a board member who
attends the meeting electronically and that the board member can hear comments
made by the public;
(V) Clearly describes the methods by which a board member may attend a
meeting electronically, which methods may include attendance via telephone, video
conferencing, or other electronic means; and
(VI) Requires the board to have a procedure in place to ensure that a board
member who attends the meeting electronically has real-time access to any
materials that are presented and available to members who are physically present
at the meeting.