Maryland Could Set New Rules For School Board Meetings, Public Comment

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland could require every local school board in the state to hold an in-person meeting and provide an opportunity for public comment at least once a month under a proposed regulation being considered by state education officials.

The proposed regulation would establish a statewide minimum for how often residents can attend regular school board meetings in person and formally address their elected or appointed education officials.

Under the proposal, every local board of education would have to hold at least one regular business meeting in person each month. Boards would also have to offer public comment during at least one monthly meeting and publish written rules explaining how residents can participate.

Boards could continue offering additional meetings, longer public comment periods or virtual participation, but they could not eliminate monthly in-person meetings or regular opportunities for public input.

Regular meetings would have to take place at locations that admit the public, are reasonably accessible and allow attendees to see and hear the proceedings.

Individual board members could still participate remotely by telephone or video. Fully virtual regular meetings would generally be allowed only during exceptional circumstances, such as severe weather, a government-declared public health emergency or an infrastructure failure that makes the usual meeting site unavailable.

Special meetings and closed sessions could also be conducted virtually, subject to the Maryland Open Meetings Act. Committees and task forces would not fall under the proposed in-person requirement.

Each board’s written public comment policy would have to explain how residents register to speak, how much time each speaker receives and what subjects may be addressed. The policy would also have to be readily available on the school system’s website.

What It Would Mean In Southern Maryland

For residents of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties, the proposed requirements do not appear likely to result in significant changes to how local school board meetings currently operate.

All three Southern Maryland school boards already hold regular meetings in person, provide opportunities for residents to speak and publish guidelines covering registration, speaking limits and permitted topics.

The regulation would instead establish those practices as a statewide minimum that local boards would be required to maintain.

Where The Proposal Stands

The State Board of Education considered the proposal in April before it was published in the Maryland Register on June 26. The public comment period ended July 27.

Final action was initially scheduled for Aug. 25, but the proposal did not appear on the State Board’s published agenda for that meeting.

An Aug. 28 legislative review memorandum listed the regulation among proposals under review. The documents did not provide a new date for final action.

State education officials estimated that the proposal would have no economic impact.

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