House Amendment 1
S 134 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
School Board Meeting

The Committee on Education and Public Works proposes the following amendment (LC-134.WAB0001H):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, by striking Section 59-19-85(A), (B), and (C) and inserting:

 (A) Each public school governing body, including the governing bodies of charter schools and special schools, must make reasonable and necessary efforts to ensure the entirety of meetings of its regularly scheduled or special called meetings of its full governing body are open and accessible to the public and also available by means of live electronic access, such as livestream transmission, except during a lawful executive session. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to alter, amend, or modify Chapter 4, Title 30.
 (B) If a governing body cannot provide such live electronic public access despite making reasonable and necessary efforts to restore livestream transmission during the meeting, it must make a clear audio and video recording of the meeting in its entirety and make it available on its website or online through a link displayed prominently on its website as soon as practicable and in no event more than two calendar days after the meeting.
 (C) The State Board of Education shall adopt, and revise as necessary, a model livestream meeting policy suitable for governing bodies of public schools, including charter and special schools, to comply with provisions in this section. The policy shall include specific items that governing bodies must adopt in board or school policy and also contain, at a minimum:
  (1) resources, recommendations, and best practices facilitating requirements for all portions of streamed meetings to be visible and audible in real-time and subsequently posted on applicable websites within two business days of the meeting;
  (2) suggested approaches for developing and implementing livestreaming and expanding or improving existing livestream capacity;
  (3) publicization of availability of livestream meetings;
  (4) allowances for executive sessions;
  (5) penalties for policy violations or noncompliance not to exceed one percent of state funds to the district, charter school, or special school, with escalating tiers based on frequency, duration, and severity; and
  (6) the process for allowing a governing body with evidence of limited or no broadband access to request approval from the State Board of Education for up to an additional twelve months to comply with provisions in this section.

Amend the bill further, by striking SECTION 2 and inserting:

SECTION 2. The provisions of this act must be implemented before July 1, 2025.