 |
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
school districts; board meetings; expenditures
Purpose
Requires a school district governing board (governing board) to hold governing board meetings at a public facility in the school district and provide public access to meeting materials and recordings as outlined. Prescribes requirements on a governing board regarding the approval of out-of-state travel for school employees and governing board members.
Background
Open meeting laws require all meetings of any public body to be public and allow all persons to attend and listen to the deliberations and proceedings. Each school district must conspicuously post a statement on the school district's website stating where all public notices of the meetings will be posted, including the physical and electronic locations, and post all public meeting notices on the school district's website. All public bodies must take written minutes or record each meeting, which must be made available for public inspection within three working days of the meeting (A.R.S. §§ 38-431.01 and 38-431.02).
A governing board must meet at the most convenient public facility in the school district. If a public facility is not available within the school district, the governing board may meet at any available public facility that is convenient to all governing board members, regardless of the county or school district in which the facility is located (A.R.S. § 15-321).
A governing
board, as determined by a majority vote of the governing board, may allow a
superintendent, principal or representatives of the superintendent or principal
to travel for a school purpose. A governing board may allow governing board
members or members-elect to travel within or outside the school district for a
school purpose and receive reimbursement. A governing board must prescribe
procedures and amounts for reimbursement of lodging and subsistence expense,
not exceeding the maximum reimbursement amounts prescribed by statute (A.R.S.
§ 15-342).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
Open Meeting Law Requirements
1. Requires a governing board to hold all meetings of the governing board and of the governing board's subcommittees at a public facility in the school district, subject to open meeting law requirements.
2. Requires a governing board to provide the public with:
a) online access to all governing board and subcommittee meeting materials, including supplemental materials presented at the meeting or provided to the governing board members in preparation for the meeting, in the same manner as the governing board provides online access to meeting notices; and
b) a live video feed of each governing board meeting and online access to video recordings of each governing board meeting, if the school district has a student count of more than 5,000 students.
3. Requires a governing board to provide the public online access to governing board and subcommittee meeting materials, minutes and video recordings for at least five years after the date of the meeting.
4. Removes the authorization for a governing board to meet at any available public facility, regardless of the county or school district in which the facility is located, if a public facility is not available within the school district.
Out-of-State Travel Authorization
5. Requires a governing board to approve in a public meeting and by a majority roll call vote, any out-of-state travel on a per-trip basis for:
a) a superintendent;
b) a principal;
c) representatives of the superintendent or principal; and
d) members or members-elect of the governing board.
6. Requires, when considering proposed out-of-state travel, a governing board to:
a) identify each individual who may travel out of state, including the individual's job title;
b) identify the name and address of the lodging facility at which each individual will stay during the proposed travel;
c) estimate the total cost of the proposed travel and the cost per individual; and
d) publicly note and describe the school purposes of the proposed travel and the benefit of the proposed travel to the school district.
7. Stipulates that an individual who is not identified in the original proposal may travel out of state in place of an individual who was identified in the original proposal if:
a) the superintendent notifies the governing board in writing and at the next regular governing board meeting that an individual who was not identified in the original proposal traveled in place of an individual identified in the original proposal; and
b) the travel expenses incurred by the individual who was not identified in the original proposal do not exceed the estimated costs for the individual who was identified in the original proposal.
8. Specifies that a school district superintendent's notification regarding out-of-state travel by an individual not identified in the original proposal must include all information required by the original proposal.
Miscellaneous
9. Makes technical and conforming changes.
10. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
ED 2/11/25 DPA 7-4-1-0
3rd Read 2/26/25 58-1-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 17, 2025
MH/KK/ci