SERIES 2000: BYLAWS

2500 Board Meetings and Open Meetings Act Compliance

2504 Public Participation at Board Meetings

Any member of the public may address the Board at a Board meeting, subject to the following rules: 

A. Except during a public participation portion of a Board meeting, no member of the public or other person may address the Board during a public meeting without the express permission of the President or other presiding officer.

B. The Board will follow public participation rules that balance the District’s interest in an orderly public meeting with the public’s First Amendment rights. A copy of these rules and any additional public participation rules adopted by the Board will be made available at Board meetings. The Board’s public participation rules include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. before addressing the Board, a member of the public will state his or her name and address;
2. each person’s public comments are limited to 3 minutes per public participation period. This time limit may be adjusted by the President or other presiding officer to facilitate public participation at Board meetings;
3. persons who are part of a group or organization or who share similar viewpoints are encouraged to designate a spokesperson to address the Board;
4. public comments of a personal nature are prohibited when: (a) the comments are unrelated to the manner in which a Board member or District employee performs that person’s duties, and (b) the comments cause a substantial disruption to the meeting;
5. any public comment not protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is prohibited;
6. Board members may ask questions of the speakers but are not required to answer questions or make statements in response to a public comment;
7. written statements and documents presented to the Board by a public participant or group are public records and must be given to the Secretary or designee; and
8. any audio recording, video recording, broadcasting, or telecasting must be performed from the seating area designated for the public or in the area otherwise designated by the President, Superintendent, or designee, and must not disrupt the meeting.

C. Once the President or other presiding officer has determined that each member of the public requesting to do so has had a reasonable opportunity to address the Board during a public participation portion of a Board meeting, the President or other presiding officer will announce that the public participation portion of the meeting has ended. 

D. If the President or other presiding officer determines that a member of the public has violated 1 or more of the above rules and refuses to come into compliance with those rules, the member of the public will lose the right to speak during public comment at that meeting. A person who persistently engages in disorderly conduct or otherwise breaches the peace at a Board meeting, after notice from the President or other presiding officer, may be removed. 

Legal authority: U.S. Const, amend. I; MCL 15.263(1), 15.263(5); MCL 380.1808

Date adopted:   08/09/2021



Date revised: