San Francisco Unified School District and County Office of Education
Board Rule and Procedure 9324
Minutes And Recordings
This Rule and Procedure applies to the San Francisco Unified School District and the County Office of Education.
The San Francisco Board of Education recognizes that maintaining accurate minutes of Board meetings provides a record of Board actions for use by District staff and the public and helps foster public trust in Board governance.
The Executive Assistant to the Board, or their designee, shall keep minutes and record all official Board actions. The Board’s minutes shall be public records and shall be made available to the public upon request. (Education Code 35145, 35163)
The minutes of Board meetings shall include, but not be limited to:
- A notation of which Board members are present, in person or by teleconference, and whether a member is not present for part of the meeting due to late arrival and/or early departure
(cf. 9250 – Remuneration, Reimbursement and Other Benefits)
(cf. 9320 – Meetings and Notices)
- A brief summary of the Board’s discussion on each agenda topic, rather than a verbatim record of each Board member’s specific points of view during the discussion
- A summary of the public comments made on agendized items and unagendized topics
- The specific language of each motion and the names of the Board members who made and seconded the motion
- Preferential votes cast by student Board member(s) (Education Code 35012)
(cf. 9150 – Student Board Members)
- Any action taken by the Board, and the vote or abstention on that action of each Board member present (Education Code 35145; Government Code 54953)
Upon request by a student’s parent/guardian, or by the student if age 18 or older, the minutes shall not include the student’s or parent/guardian’s address, telephone number, date of birth, or email address, or the student’s name or other directory information as defined in Education Code 49061. The request to exclude such information shall be made in writing to the Executive Assistant to the Board of Education, or their designee. (Education Code 49073.2)
(cf. 5125.1 – Release of Directory Information) The Board agenda shall include a statement of the option and process for students and parents/guardians to request that such information be excluded from the minutes.
The Executive Assistant to the Board of Education, or their designee, shall distribute a copy of the “unapproved” minutes of the previous meeting(s) with the agenda for the next regular meeting. The Board shall approve the minutes as circulated or with necessary amendments.
Upon approval by the Board, the minutes shall be signed by the Superintendent and the Executive Assistant to the Board.
Official Board minutes and recordings shall be stored in a secure location and shall be retained in accordance with law.
Any minutes or recordings kept for Board meetings held in closed session shall be kept separately from the minutes or recordings of regular and special meetings. Minutes or recordings of closed sessions are not public records. (Government Code 54957.2)
(cf. 9321.1 – Closed Session Actions and Reports)
Recording or Broadcasting of Meetings
Board agendas shall clearly note that the District may tape, film, stream or broadcast any open meeting of the Board, including committee meetings.
The District may erase or destroy any recording of a public meeting 30 days after the meeting. Recordings which have not been erased or destroyed in accordance with this Bylaw shall be made available for inspection by members of the public on District equipment without charge. (Government Code 54953.5)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
35012 Number of members; terms; student board members
35145 Public meetings
35163 Official actions, minutes and journals
35164 Vote requirements
49061 Student records; definitions
49073.2 Privacy of student and parent/guardian personal information
GOVERNMENT CODE
54952.2 Meeting defined
54953 Meetings
54953.5 Audio or video recording of proceedings
54953.6 Broadcasting of proceedings
54957.2 Closed sessions; clerk; minute book
54960 Violations and remedies
PENAL CODE
632 Unlawful to intentionally record a confidential communication without consent
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
16020-16027 Classification and retention of records
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Call to Order: A Blueprint for Great Board Meetings, 2015
The Brown Act: School Boards and Open Meeting Laws, rev. 2014
WEB SITES
CSBA, Agenda Online: http://www.agendaonline.com
Please note that compare references, or “cf”, refer to CSBA model policies and do not necessarily indicate that the San Francisco Unified School District has adopted the referenced policy.