Attorney General holds remote meeting permissible when public refused to comply with safety guidelines

The Attorney General’s Office on December 14, 2021 issued a binding opinion, No. 2021-011, regarding the Open Meetings Act for one of our school districts. The opinion found the District did not violate the Open Meetings Act when it chose to hold a school board meeting remotely. In this case, the School Board held the meeting remotely because (1) at the previous Board Meeting members of the public refused to follow public safety guidelines related to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused a disruption; and (2) the safety of the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic required the meeting be remote because, in part, members of the public had refused to comply with mask requirements.

What the Attorney General’s office found: The District was found not to have violated the Open Meetings Act by holding a meeting remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. While members of the public might have disagreed with the decision made by the board because the previous meeting was held in person, the Board followed all relevant statutes and rules. Further, even though the Board President stated during the meeting that they were holding the meeting in part because of the disruption caused at the last in person meeting, the Attorney General found this rationale directly concerned the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What this means for you: The Attorney General is likely to find no violation of the Open Meetings Act provided your district is clear the meeting is held remotely in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Your district must still follow all related requirements of Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act, including a disaster declaration by the Governor, a finding by the head of the public body that an in-person meeting is not practical or prudent due to the pandemic, a verbatim recording of the open meeting, a clear and audible livestream and providing proper notice to the public. The aforementioned rationale applies even if your district holds one meeting in person and the next remotely. If you hold a meeting remotely, your district must ensure all OMA requirements are properly followed, the rationale for holding the meeting remotely is clearly articulated, and said rationale is related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.