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Board adopts revisions to remote participation policy after court ruling; allows informational remote committee briefings but limits remote voting
Summary
After review of a recent North Carolina Court of Appeals decision, the board on Feb. 3 adopted changes to Policy 2302 clarifying that committees may hold remote informational briefings where no decisions are made but remote participants cannot be counted toward quorum for decisions outside declared emergencies.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education voted Feb. 3 to adopt revisions to Policy 2302 (remote participation in board meetings) following guidance from district counsel about a recent Court of Appeals decision.
Eva, the district attorney in the presentation, told the board that the North Carolina Court of Appeals had held that the combination of the open meetings law and the emergency remote meeting law did not permit boards to count remote participants toward a quorum unless a state-declared emergency was in effect. She said that, in an abundance of caution, boards should avoid counting remote members for quorum and that the board might permit remote informational briefings for committees when no official action is taken.
The policy revision adopted by the board explicitly allows board committees to meet remotely for informational briefings with staff so long as no decisions are made; it also clarifies that hearings and other decision-making meetings must be held in person unless state law provides otherwise. Board members discussed the policy’s limits and confirmed the board could still choose in-person committee meetings when fuller discussion or decision-making is appropriate.
The motion to adopt the policy revisions was moved, seconded and approved unanimously.
Why this matters: The change aligns local practice with the Court of Appeals interpretation and affects how the board and its committees schedule meetings and conduct hearings, appeals and other decision-making processes moving forward.
