The Governing Board may establish Board committees as necessary. The Board shall determine the duties of the committee at the time of its appointment. Unless specifically authorized by the Board to act on its behalf, Board committees shall act in an advisory capacity. When its duties have been completed, the committee shall be dissolved.
(cf. 1220 - Citizen Advisory Committees)
Board committees shall provide public notice of their meetings and conduct these meetings in accordance with state open meeting laws.
Meetings of advisory committees or standing committees for which an agenda is posted at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting pursuant to Government Code 54954.2, shall be considered, for purposes of the Brown Act, as regular meetings of the Board. (Government Code 54954)
(cf. 9320 - Meetings and Notices)
(cf. 9322 - Agenda/Meeting Materials)
Board advisory committees composed solely of less than a quorum of the members of the Board are not subject to open meeting laws unless they are standing committees that have a continuing subject matter jurisdiction or a meeting schedule established by the Board. (Government Code 54952)
Standing committees with a continuing subject matter jurisdiction include but are not limited to those responsible for providing advice on budgets, audits, contracts and personnel matters at the Board's request.
When a majority of the members of the Board attend an open and noticed meeting of a standing committee, the Board members who are not members of the standing committee shall attend only as observers. (Government Code 54952.2)
The Superintendent or designee may serve as an advisor to any committee at the discretion of the Board.
Whenever so charged, committees may actively seek input and participation by parents/guardians, staff, community and students and may consult with local public boards and agencies.
When a Board committee composed exclusively of Board members has provided for public comment on an item at a public meeting before or during the committee's consideration of the item, the Board is not obliged to provide for public comment on the item at a subsequent Board meeting. Public comment shall be afforded, however, if the Board determines that the item has been substantially changed since it was heard by the committee. (Government Code
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
35010 Control of district; prescription and enforcement of rules
35024 Executive committee
35160 Authority of governing boards
35160.1 Broad authority of school districts
GOVERNMENT CODE
54950-54963 The Brown Act, especially:
54952 Legislative body, definition
54952.2 Definition of meeting
54954 Time and place of regular meetings; special meetings; emergencies
54954.3 Opportunity for public to address legislative body
54957 Closed session purposes
COURT DECISIONS
Frazer v. Dixon Unified School District, (1993) 18 Cal.App.4th 781
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS
81 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 156 (1998)
80 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 308 (1997)
79 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 69 (1996)
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
The Brown Act: School Boards and Open Meeting Laws, 2009
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
National School Boards Association: http://www.nsba.org
Bylaw PLEASANTON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: September 11, 2012 Pleasanton, California