Board chair seeks second session at Atlanta Public Schools special meeting

The Atlanta Public Schools board was called into a special-call meeting Oct. 20, 2025, where the chair asked members for a motion to retreat into a second session. The transcript of the provided portion lists board members present and confirms a quorum but does not record the reason given for the proposed private session or the final outcome.

"I would like to now call the 10/20/2025 special call board meeting to order," the chair said at the start of the session. A staff member conducting roll call named board members present, including Katie Howard (District 1), Loretta Baldwin (District 2), Dr. Ken Zaff (District 3), Erica Mitchell (District 5, identified in the roll call as board chair), Alfred Shevy Brooks (at-large), Cynthia Briscoe Brown (at-large), Jessica Johnson (at-large), and general counsel Nina Cooper. After the roll call the staff member said, "Madam chair, you have a quorum."

The chair then asked general counsel whether there was a reason to move into a second session; the transcript records an affirmative reply but does not clearly attribute the reply or record the substance of the reason. The chair asked, "Is there a motion for the board to retreat into a second session?" the record shows. A participant later said, "Probably move that forward," but the transcript excerpt does not identify a formal mover or seconder, nor does it include any vote tally or a statement that the board entered the second session.

The provided transcript ends while the procedural exchange about going into a second session is underway. It does not record what topics, if any, would be discussed in private, who made the formal motion (if one was made), or whether a vote was taken to approve the executive session. The public excerpt therefore does not indicate the next procedural steps beyond the motion discussion.