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Richland School District 1 committee reviews new livestreaming, swearing-in and committee membership policies
Summary
Administrators presented proposed updates to three board policies — live streaming (BEA), board meetings (BE), and board committees (BDE) — to comply with a state law requiring audio and video livestreams, clarify swearing-in timing after county certification, and allow community experts to serve on committees; no policy votes were held.
Doctor Tiffany Richardson presented proposed revisions to three board policies to the Richland School District 1 administration committee on Oct. 7, saying the changes respond to a state law and recent audit recommendations.
"Policy BEA, this is a new policy which will set forth the district's protocol to provide the community with live stream access to all board meetings," Doctor Tiffany Richardson said, describing a new policy modeled on the South Carolina School Boards Association language and the South Carolina Department of Education's model language. Richardson said legislation signed on 05/12/2025 "basically mandates that all school boards livestream both video and audio," and that the district must comply for regular meetings and, under the new language, for committee meetings that had previously sometimes been audio-only.
The administration noted the requirement excludes executive session. Richardson told the committee that livestream links already appear in two places on the district website — the school board page and on BoardDocs — and that recordings are to "be put up 2 days following the board meeting." Committee members raised logistical concerns about staffing cameras and capturing video without requiring dedicated staff to run equipment.
Richardson also described edits to Policy BE (board meetings). She said the draft replaces permissive "and/or" wording with a clear audio-and-video requirement and updates swearing-in language. Richardson noted the policy will reflect local practice that swearing-in occurs after certification: the district confirmed with Richland County that certification typically happens the Friday after an election, and the policy language specifies a seven-day period measured in calendar days after that certification.
On Policy BDE (board committees), Richardson said the administration recommends allowing community members with relevant expertise to serve on specific committees. She said the administration will rename the committee referenced in the manual from the "administration committee" to the "audit and administration committee" to reflect agreed-upon procedures from the district's financial audit. Richardson emphasized that inviting community members is discretionary and that such participants may be excluded from executive session depending on the sensitivity of the matter and board prerogative.
A committee member asked whether current policy on virtual participation still limits electronic attendance to declared state or federal emergencies; Richardson said she plans to bring a revised policy (including a SESBA model on electronic participation) that would allow the board to set parameters for non-emergency virtual participation and address confidentiality and technical safeguards.
No formal votes were taken on the proposed policy changes at the meeting. The committee approved the printed agenda at the start of the session by voice vote and adjourned at 9:23 a.m.
The administration said it will return revised policy language to the committee for further consideration, including proposed wording on electronic participation and the precise swearing-in language tied to county certification.
