Revised PO 0169.1 - Public Participation at Board Meetings

Title PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS
Code po0169.1
Status Active
Legal R.C. 3313.20
Adopted February 11, 2013
Last Revised December 12, 2022
0169.1 - PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS
The Board of Education recognizes the value to school governance of public comment on educational issues and the importance of
allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters of community interest. The Board offers public participation
to members of the public in accordance with the procedures below. The Board applies these procedures to all speakers and does not
discriminate based on the identity of the speaker, content of the speech, or viewpoint of the speaker.
The Board is also committed to conducting its meetings in a productive and efficient manner that assures that the regular agenda of the
Board is completed in a reasonable period of time, honors the voluntary nature of the Board's time, and using that time efficiently, to
complete the business of the district, and allows for a fair and adequate opportunity for input to be considered. It is important to
remember that the Board conducts its meetings in public, but that the regularly scheduled business meeting is a limited public forum.
Consequently, public participation at Board meetings will be governed by this bylaw.
To permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment, the Board shall may provide a period for public participation at every
regular meeting of the Board and publish rules to govern such participation in Board meetings. The Board may provide public
participation at special meetings.
The presiding officer of each Board meeting at which public participation is permitted shall administer the rules of the Board for its
conduct.
The presiding officer shall be guided by the following rules:
A. Public participation shall be permitted as indicated on the order of business.
B. Anyone who is one (1) of the following may participate during the designated public participation portion(s) of a meeting:
1. Resident.
2. Business owner within the district's boundaries.
3. Parent or legal guardian of a currently enrolled student.
4. Employees
5. Students
C. The Board encourages students to speak and be heard during Board meetings, especially on issues that will have a direct
impact on their experiences in school.
D. Attendees must register their intention to participate in the public portion of the meeting after the agenda, from the specific
meeting they wish to participate, has been published. Participants will be able to register up to 9:00 a.m. on the day of the
meeting to participate. Attendees can register by submission of the digital option on the Lakota Local Schools district
website. Participants who do not have access to the digital option can register in the same time frame in person, at Lakota
Central Offices during regular business hours. All participants will be asked to provide proof of residency in Lakota Local
Schools, Butler County, Ohio.
E. Individuals may not register others to speak during public participation unless the individual who wishes to speak is not
physically able to register their own name and address.
F. Participants must first be recognized by the presiding officer and may preface their comments, by an announcement of their
name.
G. Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to three (3) minutes duration unless extended by the presiding officer.
H. No participant may speak more than once.
I. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer; no person may address or question Board members
individually. Participants should not expect a response from Board members or district administration during this portion.
J. Audio or video recordings are permitted. The person operating the recorder should contact the Superintendent prior to the
Board meeting to review the possible placement of the equipment, and must agree to abide by the following conditions:
1. No obstructions are created between the Board and the audience.
2. No interviews are conducted in the meeting room while the Board is in session.
3. No commentary, adjustment of equipment, or positioning of operators is made that would distract either the Board
or members of the audience while the Board is in session and not disrupt the meeting.
K. The Board does not hear any compliments or complaints about Lakota Local School employees during the public
participation portion of their meetings. The Board welcomes compliments and complaints through emails, website
submissions, conversations, and other available outlets.
L. Displaying posters, written signs, objects, or other written or electronic materials by attendees at Board meetings, which may
obstruct the view of other attendees, obstruct the recording video of the meeting, distract either the Board or members of the
audience, or otherwise disrupt or interfere with the orderly progress of the Board Meeting is not permitted.
1. The restrictions above shall not apply to any posters, written signs, objects, or other written or electronic
materials that are presented by a designated individual to the Board as part of a particular agenda item for the
Board's meeting.
2. Persons who violate the provisions of Section L shall be first asked to follow the rules set forth above.
Should such individuals fail or refuse to follow these requests, such individuals will be asked to leave the Board
meeting.
M. Participants are permitted to comment on items listed on the published agenda for the Board meeting at which the participant
registered their intention to participate. Participants may also speak to the following specific topics:
1. Child Nutrition
2. Communications
3. Community Relations
4. Curriculum
5. Facilities
6. Finance
7. Operations
8. Programming
9. Safety
10. School Board

11. Special Education
12. Student Co/Extra Curricular
13. Technology
14. Transportation
N. The presiding officer may:
1. interrupt, warn, or terminate a participant's session when they make comments that are repetitive, obscene, and/or
comments that constitute a true threat (i.e., statements meant to frighten or intimidate one (1) or more specified
persons into believing that they will be seriously harmed by the speaker or someone acting at the speaker's behest).
2. request any individual to stop speaking and/or leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable
decorum or is disruptive to the conduct and/or orderly progress of the meeting;
3. request the assistance of law enforcement officers in the removal of a disorderly person when that person's conduct
interferes with the conduct and/or orderly progress of the meeting;
4. call for a recess or an adjournment to another time when the lack of public decorum so interferes with the orderly
conduct of the meeting as to warrant such action
5. Waive these rules with the approval of the Board when necessary for the protection of privacy or the administration
of the Board's business.
The portions of the meeting during which the participation of the public is invited shall be limited to thirty (30) minutes unless
extended by a vote of the Board.
Revised 5/21/18
Revised 12/10/18
Revised 11/29/21
Revised 3/28/22
© Neola 2022

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Title PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS

Legal R.C. 3313.20

Adopted February 11, 2013

Last Revised December 12, 2022

0169.1 - PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS

The presiding officer shall be guided by the following rules:

A. Public participation shall be permitted as indicated on the order of business.

2. Business owner within the district's boundaries.

3. Parent or legal guardian of a currently enrolled student.

H. No participant may speak more than once.

1. No obstructions are created between the Board and the audience.

10. School Board

12. Student Co/Extra Curricular

N. The presiding officer may:

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