Grand Forks School Board Meetings

Procedure for Citizen Comment at a School Board Meeting

School Board meetings are defined by state law and are subject to the Open Meetings Law. Open meeting provisions are found in the North Dakota Constitution, the North Dakota Century Code, and School District Policy BCBA.

Procedure for Public Comment at a School Board Meeting

The purpose of the open meetings law is to provide members of the public with access to the meetings of a governing board of a public entity, allowing them to observe and monitor. By state law, every regular meeting of the Board must include an opportunity for an individual to provide public comment. The law requires that an individual providing comment at a meeting provide to the governing body in writing their name and address. The Board may limit public comments in accordance with the provisions of NDCC § 44-04-20.1(3)(a)(b).

Public comments must be pertinent to the District, may not interfere with the orderly conduct of the regular meeting, may not be defamatory, abusive, harassing, or unlawful, and may be prohibited if an alternative procedure exists to bring that particular type of public comment before the public entity, the public comment includes confidential or exempt information, or the public comment is otherwise prohibited by law.

Individuals wishing to address the school board must complete this Public Comment Card, submit it to the school board secretary before the meeting begins, and wait to be invited to speak. Each person may speak for up to three (3) minutes. No individual may speak on the same topic more than once.

School Board members shall not engage in a response or enter into a debate about any issue(s) brought before the board during this portion of the meeting.  Public comments and concerns will be directed to the Superintendent of Schools, who will address them in accordance with policies adopted by the Board.