schools

School Board Closed Sessions with Administrators Q: The School Board meets in Closed Session and apparently regularly invites a “leadership team” of administrators into the Closed Session. The administrators are not necessarily there to answer specific questions that are on the agenda of the Closed Session, but to merely be there in case questions come up. I understand that board members who apparently know this to be a possible violation of the Brown Act, both

Mayor and University Official Meetings Q: The mayors of four cities have formed a grouping of sorts and meet with the University chancellor & the director of the labs – this is not done in public — should it be done in public? A: Based on the circumstances you describe, I am unaware of any law that would require a meeting such as you describe to be public.  As you may know, California’s Brown Act

Community College Senates, the Brown Act, and Secret Ballots Q: I am a member of a College Academic Senate, a body of 15 elected faculty members representing the faculty at large and governed by open meeting regulations, including the Brown Act. The Senate violated the Brown Act by conducting a secret ballot and a group of faculty brought a petition for a referendum vote by the faculty at large on the issue. The illegal secret ballot

The Brown Act and Charter Schools Q: A local public charter school has elected eight people to their Board of Directors this year. This is a public charter school. It is also a 501.c.3 non-profit corporation. The board of directors is self-selecting, self-electing. Each time a person was elected to the board, either as an interim officer (Treasurer) or as a new board member, the process was listed under Action Items on the Agenda. The