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Trustees approve limiting public comment to agenda items after hours of public opposition
Summary
After about 20 members of the public urged the board to retain non‑agenda comment, Plano ISD trustees voted 5–2 to adopt an amendment to policy BED local that limits public comment at board meetings to posted agenda items and creates alternative avenues (community input meetings, Let's Talk).
Plano ISD trustees adopted under second reading a change to BED local that limits in‑meeting public comment to items posted on the meeting agenda, a move that drew sustained public opposition and split the board.
Lucas Henry, presenting on legal constraints, told trustees the Texas Open Meetings Act guarantees the public the right to speak on agenda items but grants school boards discretion over non‑agenda comment; he summarized the legal tests the board must meet if it limits a forum and emphasized the need to provide alternative avenues for speech. "Public comment is a mechanism for citizens to exercise their First Amendment right. However, public comment is a statutory creation," Henry said, explaining the statutory distinction between agenda and non‑agenda remarks.
More than a dozen members of the public spoke during the allotted agenda‑related public comment period, with many urging the board to keep non‑agenda public comment at the start of meetings. Speakers raised concerns that replacing spoken comment with the Let's Talk portal would reduce transparency and exclude working parents; others argued community input sessions limit access because only three trustees would attend to avoid a quorum. One commenter asked, "Will you post those submissions or only the ones you like?"
Trustees who supported the change argued that community input sessions and the Let's Talk portal would allow two‑way exchanges and faster follow‑up while also enabling staff to triage and assign issues to the appropriate campus or department. After extended debate, the board adopted the BED local change on a 5–2 vote. President Lauren Tyra reminded the public that SB12 requires districts to prioritize agenda‑related public comment at the start of posted meetings while permitting alternative mechanisms for non‑agenda concerns.
