Walk It Through: The Public Meeting

Grounds stated before the door closes, every member's vote on spending, and a copy in the room.

Partway through, the school board announces it will close the meeting.

Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.

One school board meeting. The grounds on which a meeting may be closed, the notice rules, the bodies the chapter does not reach, and the civil penalties for a violation are not worked through here.

A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.

Words this turns on

Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.

Closed meetingA meeting a public body closes on grounds the chapter permits. Before closing it, the body states on the record the specific grounds permitting the meeting to be closed and describes the subject to be discussed.