Brown Act Training
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PRESENTED BY: JENNIFER MCQUARRIE
THE LAW OFFICES OF JENNIFER MCQUARRIE
[email protected]
805-252-1080
What is the Brown Act?
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 Ralph M. Brown Act (CA Gov. Code sections
54950, et seq.)
 Open meeting requirement for local legislative
bodies
 Includes, among other things:
o
o
o
o
Notice
Agenda
Public comment
Exceptions
Competing Policy Interests
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•
Brown Act
o
o
•
Encourage public participation in local government
decisions
Deter secret legislation by public bodies
Charter School
o
o
o
Confidential information re students/employees
Candor in decision-making and debate
Efficient decision-making
Brown Act Triggers
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 Who: Local agencies and legislative bodies
o
And…charter schools that commit to following it
through Charter or operating agreement with
authorizer
 What: “Meetings”
Who Must Comply
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• Legislative body means:
o Committee, commission, etc., of the charter
school governing board



o
Standing committees of charter school governing
board:


o
Permanent or temporary
Decision-making or advisory
Created by formal action of a legislative body
Continuing subject matter jurisdiction or
Meeting schedule fixed by formal action
Not included:


Advisory committees whose entire membership are
board members (but cannot be a standing committee)
Less than quorum of board
What is a Meeting?
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 Broadly defined
o
o
o
o
Congregation of board majority at the same time and place to
hear, discuss or deliberate upon any item within its subject matter
jurisdiction
Includes collective acquisition and exchange of facts before
making a decision
Includes informal and inadvertent meetings
Collective commitment to make a positive or negative decision
What is a Meeting?
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•
Serial meetings prohibited
o
Board majority uses



o
o
o
direct communication
personal intermediaries
technology and social media
To discuss, deliberate or take action or develop collective
concurrence
For an action to be taken on an item by the Board
Prohibition does not prevent employee/official from engaging in
separate conversations or communications with board members
to answer questions/provide information

So long as does not communicate to members the comments or
position of other board members
What is a Meeting?
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•
Exceptions:
o
o
Individual conversations between a board member and
another individual
Attendance of a majority of members at:

Open conferences (or similar meetings)

Open meetings of other organizations

Open meetings of other legislative bodies

Purely social or ceremonial gatherings
What is a Meeting?
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•
Exceptions continued:
o
Provided they don’t discuss amongst selves school
business, other than as part of a program
Compliance - Notice
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 Three types of meetings:
o Regular meetings


o
Special meetings


o
Usually designated by resolution or bylaws
72-hours notice
Called at any time (presiding officer or board majority)
24-hours notice
Emergency meetings


Very rare
1-hour notice to media outlets that previously requested notice
Compliance - Agenda
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•
Regular and Special Meetings: Content
o
Time/location, including any teleconference locations
o
Brief general description of each item of business to be transacted
or discussed

Including closed session matters (further discussion later in
slides)

Need not exceed 20 words
Items Not on the Agenda
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 Member or staff, on own initiative or in response to statements made or
questions posed by public, asks for clarification, makes a brief
announcement or reports on his/her own activities
 Provide reference to staff or other resources for factual information ,
request staff to report back to the body at a subsequent meeting
concerning any matter or take action to direct staff to place a matter on
a future agenda
 If emergency exists as defined by statute, determined by majority vote
 2/3rd vote or unanimous, need to take immediate action and need came
to the attention of the body after the agenda was posted
Compliance – Limits at Special Meetings
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 Salaries, salary schedules, compensation in the
form of fringe benefits of CEO may not be
discussed in special meetings
o
Does not preclude discussion of the budget in a special
meeting
Compliance - Posting
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Post in a location that is freely accessible to the
public 24-hours a day and compliant with ADA


Cannot be behind locked gates
Website, if the school has one
 If teleconference participation, at each
teleconference location

Compliance - Minutes
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 No explicit reference to minutes
 Must publicly report any action taken and the vote or
abstention of that action of each board member

Essentially requires minutes to reflect each board member’s
vote
 Minutes record actions taken, reflect proper recusal
procedures, provide documentation that school acted
properly
 Public records
Compliance - Teleconferencing
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 Votes taken by roll call
 Agendas posted at each teleconferenced location
 Each location must meet the ADA
 Quorum must be located within geographical
boundaries of school
 Public may participate from each location
Compliance – Public Participation
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Regular meetings:
•
Testimony before or during consideration of the item
Any topic within the board’s jurisdiction
•
•


•
One public comment period for items not on the agenda; public
comment before each item
One public comment period for all public comment at one time in the
beginning of the meeting, including agenda items and non-agenda
items
Special meetings
o
o
Testimony only for items described in the agenda
Before or during consideration of the item
o
Including before closed session
Compliance – Rights of the Public
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Participate at each teleconferenced location
Reasonable accommodations per ADA








For the agenda as well as at the meeting
Agenda must identify how to request accommodations
Cannot be required to sign in (unless speaking)
May record or broadcast meetings
May have access to board materials (with limited
exceptions)
May not be censored
Compliance – Closed Session
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 Closed Sessions Generally
o
Sessions must be expressly authorized by statute
o
Narrowly construed
o
Strong bias in favor of open meetings

•
Sensitive, embarrassing or controversial content does not
justify application unless expressly allowed
Semi-closed meetings not allowed
 Confidentiality of Closed Sessions
o
Person attending may not disclose to a non-attendee
Compliance – Closed Session
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 Agenda detail
 Balance privacy of closed session against the public’s right to
know
 Government Code section 54954.5 provides agenda
descriptions for all permissible closed session meetings, except
for student discipline
 Before convening into closed session, announce what will be
discussed – only read the agenda description
 After returning from closed session, may be required to report
out action taken
Compliance – Permissible Closed Session
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






Personnel
Litigation
Real property negotiations
Labor negotiations
Public security
Student discipline
Others likely not applicable
Personnel
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 May consider employee appointment, performance
evaluations, discipline/dismissal/release
 If employee appointment or performance, identify
position on the agenda
 If discipline/dismissal release, do not identify the
position on the agenda
 If hearing complaints against the employee, provide
24 hour’s notice and the ability to bring the matter
into open session, although board can
discuss the issue in closed session
Personnel
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 Report Out
 Action taken reported out identifying the title of the
position, except for dismissal or nonrenewal of contract
 Dismissal/nonrenewal deferred until the first public
meeting following the exhaustion of administrative
remedies, if any
 If no administrative remedies, report out act
Litigation
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 Existing litigation and anticipated litigation, so long
as counsel is present (via teleconference is enough)
 Detailed agenda requirements and limits on when
this closed session may be held
 Litigation includes court proceedings, as well as
other administrative hearings
Potential disputes with your granting agency (such as revocation
or non renewal)
 Labor commissioner hearings, Workers Compensation hearings

• Unemployment benefits hearings
Litigation
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 Report Out
 Approval to defend, seek or refrain from seeking appellate
review or enter as “friend of the court”


Include adverse party(ies) and substance of litigation
Approval to initiate or intervene in action

Report that approval to initiate/intervene in an action given and
once formally commenced, identify the parties and other
particulars upon request
 Unless it interferes with the ability to conclude settlement
negotiations or service of process issues
Litigation
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 Report Out continued
 Approval of final settlement
 If acceptance of offer signed by opposing party, report
acceptance and identify the substance of the agreement
in open session after closed session
 If acceptance by opposing party is pending, upon final
settlement, identify the fact of approval and substance
of the agreement upon request