Meeting Minutes & Agendas

Open Meeting Law Advisory Relating to SEPACs

The Division of Open Government issued a determination letter dated October 28, 2021 (OML 2021-150) with their decision regarding whether SEPACs were subject to Open Meeting Law. The conclusion was that the SEPACs were not public bodies subject to the Open Meeting Law and that unless SEPAC by-laws gave authority to the officers to act collectively, the Executive Board was also not subject to the Open Meeting Law.

You can find a quick summary of the decision and other frequently asked questions on the Attorney General’s site on Mass.gov.

SEPACs still have the same legislative authority to act as advisory councils to the school district and best practices would include sharing an agenda in advance of a meeting and discussing advisory issues in a public forum. The hope is that this ruling allows for more robust discussion of issues, an opportunity to grow SEPAC membership, and an incentive for more parents to step up to leadership.