Senate panel approves bill requiring school boards to post meeting notices and approved minutes online

The Senate Education Committee approved SB89 on a voice vote, adopting a bill that requires school districts to post advance notices of board meetings and approved meeting minutes on their public websites.

Supporters said the change is a limited, administrative step to make school-board activity easier to track online. Senator English, who introduced the bill, told the committee it “adds some information to the school district's website with respect to the board of directors,” noting the measure “makes sure that we have an announcement ahead of time about all the meetings that are going to take place and also it requires that approved minutes are posted on the website.”

A public commenter, Jimmy Kevin (presenting himself as a citizen), told the committee the proposal was a positive move for openness: “With all the issues we've had in government transparency over the last couple of years, this is a welcome positive step in government transparency,” Kevin said. He said the bill was “simple” and urged a favorable vote.

Committee members asked no substantive questions before the chair called for the voice vote. The chair announced the bill passed after members responded in the affirmative.

The committee did not record a roll-call tally on the record for SB89. The bill moves on from committee with the committee’s approval.

The bill’s text, as described in committee, addresses public posting and does not change other legal requirements for school boards. The committee did not identify additional administrative costs required of districts beyond website posting.