AI-assisted research summary: School boards may adopt an electronic-meetings policy, but if they do, it must meet specific requirements for trustee participation, public participation, closed meetings, and physical attendance.
Electronic Meetings Regulation, M.R. 201/2004 The Public Schools Act , C.C.S.M. c. P250 Regulation 201/2004 Registered November 5, 2004 bilingual version (HTML) Table of Contents Section 1 Definition 2 Policy re electronic meetings 3 Content of policy 4 Electronic means provided at other locations 5 Required attendance 5.1 Exclusion for 2020-2021 school year 6 Member deemed to be present Definition 1 In this regulation, "Act" means The Public Schools Act . Policy re electronic meetings 2(1) A school board may develop and implement a policy providing for the use of electronic means for holding meetings of a school board. 2(2) The policy must be in accordance with section 39.7.1 of the Act and this regulation. Content of policy 3(1) The policy must provide for the following: (a) subject to section 5, at the request of a trustee, the school board must provide the trustee with electronic means for participating in one or more meetings of the school board; (b) the electronic means required by clause (a) must (i) permit the trustee to hear and be heard by all other participants in the meeting, and (ii) be provided in such a way that the rules governing the conduct of members set out in sections 36 to 39.8 of the Act are complied with. 3(2) The policy must ensure that only members participate in any meeting or portion of a meeting that is closed to the public in accordance with the Act. Electronic means provided at other locations 4(1) A school board may determine whether electronic means should be provided at one or more locations within the area of the school division or school district to permit participation by members of the public in meetings. 4(2) Where a school board determines that electronic means should be provided under this section, the school board's policy must (a) provide for the extent and manner of participation by members of the public through electronic means; and (b) ensure that members of the public who are participating through electronic means do not participate in any proceedings that are closed to the public in accordance with the Act. Required attendance 5 The policy shall require that, at every meeting of the school board, the following persons be physically present in the meeting room of the board: (a) the chair of the board or his or her designate; (b) at least one additional member of the board; (c) the superintendent of the division or his or her designate; (d) the secretary-treasurer or his or her designate. Exclusion for 2020-2021 school year 5.1 Section 5 does not apply during the 2020-2021 school year. M.R. 88/2020 Member deemed to be present 6 Subject to any conditions or limitations provided for under the Act or under this regulation, a member of a school board who participates in a meeting through electronic means in accordance with this regulation shall be deemed to be present at the meeting for the purposes of the Act.