Lack of knowledge generally doesn’t hold up as a defense for breaking the law. OSBA has stepped forward to make sure school board members aren’t caught unaware about public meeting laws.
Starting Jan. 1, 2024, all members of a governing body with expenditure authority of $1 million or more a year are required to receive public meeting law training at least once per term in office. The training must be presented by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission or an approved organization.
In late November, OSBA was the first organization to earn OGEC’s approval for its training program. OSBA’s training presentation is designed specifically for school board members, administrators and administrative professionals.
OSBA staff will offer a free webinar Feb. 6 that fulfills members’ legal obligation. OSBA is also planning presentations at its Summer Board Conference and Annual Convention. The recorded webinar will be available to members, and OSBA will meet in-person training requests as staffing capacity allows.
The 2023 Legislature added the training requirement in House Bill 2805, which updated the public meetings law for modern considerations.
“This is the most substantial change to the public meetings law since the 1970s,” said Haley Percell, OSBA chief legal officer and interim deputy executive director. She will be one of the webinar presenters.
The new law addresses issues such as what constitutes a public meeting, executive session rules, grievance processes and the definition of serial meetings based on current technology.
“They put in writing more clearly things we already knew based on case law,” Haley said.
OSBA will be required to earn OGEC approval for its training course annually to stay current with any new legislative changes.
School board members are required to have the training or potentially face OGEC penalties, ranging up to $1,000 per violation.
Susan Myers, OGEC executive director, said the agency’s goal is education and cooperation to implement the law and not punishment.
Myers said the law’s primary purpose is to make public meetings more transparent. Board members are personally responsible for following the law whether or not they received training, she said.
“It is to their benefit to work with OSBA or OGEC or any other group providing training to get trained on what the public meeting law requires,” she said.
OGEC did a test run of its own training program at the 2024 OSBA Summer Board Conference.
The InterMountain Education Service District in Pendleton is among those requesting an in-person training session from OSBA for its members.
Superintendent Mark Mulvihill said OSBA is a trusted source for keeping his region up to date on state rules. His member districts like in-person sessions for the whole group so they have an opportunity to share best practices, he said.
“Having OSBA provide this training is only logical,” Mulvihill said. “We always look to OSBA to provide that guidance.”
– Jake Arnold, OSBA
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