School board reviews draft public‑comment rules that would bar remarks about pending litigation and named employees

At a May 8 work session, the Orange County School Board reviewed proposed changes to policy BEDH that would codify how the district runs its public comment periods and bar speakers from addressing pending litigation or commenting on the behavior or academic performance of individual students and employees.

The revisions formalize a pilot the district has been using: the “open public comment period” would begin one hour before a regularly scheduled meeting and conclude no later than 45 minutes after it starts. Members of the public who want to speak before the board are asked to email publiccomment@ocps by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting so staff can compile submissions for board members to review.

General counsel John Palmerini, who presented the draft, said the rules also set how long each speaker gets depending on total turnout and a priority order for who may speak. "If we have between 1 and 10 speakers, they'll each get 3 minutes; between 11 and…