Generally, board meetings shall be open meetings, unless a closed meeting is provided for under the law. The Board shall hold a closed meeting in the situations listed below.
Exceptions to the Open Meeting Law
The following closed meetings take place as part of an open meeting. The item for discussion in the closed meeting shall be listed as part of the tentative agenda on the public meeting notice. The motion for a closed meeting, stating the purpose for the closed meeting, shall be made and seconded during the open meeting. A minimum of four (4) board members, or all of the board members present, must vote in favor of the motion on a roll call vote. Closed meetings shall be taped recorded and have detailed minutes kept by the board secretary.
The minutes and tape recording will restate the motion made in the open meeting, the roll call vote, the members present, and the time the closed session began and ended. The tape recordings and the written minutes shall be kept for one (1) year from the date of the meeting. Real estate related minutes and tapes will be made public after the real estate transaction is completed.
Other than the courts, only those with the permission of a majority of the board may listen to the tape or review the minutes. Persons who were present at the closed meeting may only listen to the portion of the tape or review the section of the minutes for which they were present. The board has complete discretion as to who may be present at a closed session.
Final action on matters discussed in the closed meeting shall be taken in an open meeting. Reasons for the board entering into a closed meeting from a public meeting include, but are not limited to the following:
- To review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for the Board’s possession or receipt of federal funds.
- To discuss strategy with legal counsel in matters presently in litigation, or where litigation is eminent, if disclosure would be to the disadvantage of the Board.
- To discuss whether to conduct a hearing for suspension or expulsion of a student, unless an open session is requested by the student or the student’s parent or guardian.
- To discuss specific law enforcement matters which, if disclosed, would enable law violators to avoid detection.
- To evaluate the professional competence of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance, or discharge is being considered when a closed session is necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and when the individual requests closed session.
- To discuss the purchase of particular real estate, but only when premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the Board would have to pay for the property.
Exemptions to the Open Meetings Law
As meetings of this type are exempt from the open session requirements, they can be held without public notice, be separate from any open public meeting, be held without taping the meeting or taking minutes, and be held without a vote or motion. The Board may hold a closed meeting for the following purposes:
- To discuss strategy in matters, relating to employment conditions, such as wage, hours, vacation, insurance, holidays, leave of absence, shift differential, overtime compensation, supplemental safety matters, evaluation procedures, procedures for staff reduction and in-service training; and
- To conduct a private hearing relating to the recommended termination of a teacher’s contract, and the teacher requested said private hearing.
The private hearing in the teacher’s contract termination shall be recorded verbatim by a court reporter. There are no legal requirements for any type of a record to be maintained of the negotiation strategy session.
Legal Reference: Iowa Code Chapters 20 and 21, §§22.7, 279.15, 279.16 (1991)
1982 Op. Att’y Gen 162
Cross Reference: 211 Board of Directors Meetings
212 Open Meetings of the Board of Directors
214 Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
Approved: 2-10-92
Reviewed: 9-11-23
Revised:
