Lawmakers try again to add school board transparency
Two state lawmakers are trying again to give the public a bit more information about local school board discussions that take place behind closed doors.
Two state lawmakers are trying again to give the public a bit more information about local school board discussions that take place behind closed doors.
The sponsor of a 2012 ban on the use of secret ballots by public bodies in Colorado wants to introduce a bill this session making it clear that any citizen has legal standing to challenge violations of the law.
A judge in Jefferson County has thrown out a citizen’s lawsuit against Arvada for using secret ballots to fill a vacant council seat, ruling that he lacks legal standing to sue the city for violating that aspect of Colorado’s Open Meetings Law.
A controversial bill to require the electronic recording of all portions of school board executive sessions was killed in a Senate committee at the request of the sponsor.
A possible amendment to a controversial bill on school board executive sessions would weaken a key provision of the proposal which mandates the electronic recording of portions of closed-door meetings that currently aren’t recorded because attorney-client privilege has been claimed.
Legislation to add requirements for school board executive sessions passed the Colorado House after a long, emotional attack by opponents who said it would undermine attorney-client relationships as well as education-reform efforts in some districts.
Lawmakers fighting a bill to add requirements for school board executive sessions argued during House debate that the measure would chill important attorney-client discussions.
A perception that some school boards are abusing executive sessions prompted committee passage of a bill in the state legislature aimed at giving the public more information to ascertain whether a closed-door meeting might violate Colorado’s Sunshine Law.
Concerned that some school boards in Colorado are meeting behind closed doors when they shouldn’t be, a state representative has proposed legislation that would give the public more information to gauge whether their elected school officials might be violating the state’s Sunshine Law.
Was the Arvada City Council aware of a 2012 state statute that outlaws the use of secret ballots to make decisions when it voted four times Jan. 10, on anonymous folded sheets of paper, to eliminate candidates for a vacant council seat?