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Board counsel says training with proctors should be public or formally noticed
Summary
Board counsel advised that any meeting involving two or more board members about exam administration must be publicly noticed under the Freedom of Information Act; recording such a session would create a public record. Board members agreed scheduling a special meeting would be the simplest option.
Board counsel told the licensing board on a Zoom meeting that sessions in which the board discusses administration or grading of exams must be publicly noticed if two or more board members participate.
"If you're going to be doing board business even if it's just board adjacent business just to make sure that it everything is completely public on on and the public has a a ability to be involved even if it's just watching," counsel Bridal Baum said during the meeting.
The guidance followed a proposal to hold a Zoom orientation for two new proctors before the practical exam on June 5. The board chair asked whether a single board member could meet with proctors outside a public meeting; counsel said a lone board member may meet with proctors for training but that any discussion amounting to board business with two or more members triggers open-meeting rules.
"If you have 2 or more of you together, it must be a public meeting," Ryan Burns reiterated in the meeting. The counsel added that if the board wishes to discuss exam content with multiple members and the public should not hear the discussion, the board must first convene an executive session in a properly noticed meeting.
Board members debated whether to record a proctor orientation. Counsel warned that recorded meetings become public records and subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
"Once we are recording a meeting like that, it becomes a public record," Bridal Baum said. Board members said, given that practical effect, calling a special meeting and, if necessary, using an executive session would be the cleaner path. One member said they would prefer to attend a special meeting; another said they had no strong preference and would follow whichever procedure the board chose.
No formal vote was taken on the proctor orientation scheduling at the meeting; the chair said they would prepare an agenda and follow up on scheduling.
