BEDH Public Comment at School Committee Meetings
PUBLIC COMMENT AT SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETINGS
All regular and special meetings of the School Committee shall be open to the public. Executive sessions will be held only as prescribed by the statutes of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.
The School Committee desires members of the Wayland Public Schools’ school community to attend its meetings so that they may become better acquainted with the operations and the programs of the District. In addition, the Committee would like the opportunity to hear the wishes and ideas of members of the Wayland Public Schools’ school community on matters within the scope of their authority. These matters include the District’s budget, the performance of the Superintendent, and the educational goals and policies of the District.
In order that all members of the Wayland Public Schools’ school community who wish to be heard before the Committee have an opportunity, and to ensure the ability of the Committee to conduct the District's business in an orderly manner, the following rules and procedures are adopted consistent with state and federal speech laws:
We want to hear from the public, and encourage people to come and speak. To ensure we can allocate sufficient time for public comment, we encourage people to let the chair know ahead of time that they plan to come and speak.
The Chair shall determine the length of the public participation segment. At the start of each regularly scheduled School Committee meeting, individuals or group representatives will be invited to address the Committee.
Speakers will each be allowed three (3) minutes to present their material. If a large number of people present indicate they wish to speak, the Chair may reduce the time limit in order to stay within the time allotted for public comment on the agenda. All speakers will be given the same time limit.
All speakers are encouraged to present their remarks in a respectful manner.
Speakers must begin their remarks by stating their name, town or city of residence, and affiliation. All remarks will be addressed through the Chair of the meeting.
Public Comment may concern items that are not on the School Committee’s agenda, but which are within the scope of the School Committee’s authority. Therefore, comments involving staff members or students should concern the educational goals, policies, or budget of the Wayland Public Schools, or the performance of the Superintendent. The most appropriate venue for addressing concerns outside the School Committee’s authority would be teachers, building principals, or the Superintendent.
Written comments longer than the allowed time limit may be presented to the Committee before or after the meeting for the Committee members’ review and consideration at an appropriate time.
Large groups addressing the same topic are encouraged to consolidate their remarks and/ or select a spokesperson to speak during Public Comment.
Speakers may not assign their time to another speaker, and in general, extensions of time will not be permitted. However, speakers who require reasonable accommodations on the basis of a speech-related disability or who require language interpretation services may be allotted a total of five (5) minutes to present their material. Speakers must notify the School Committee by telephone or email at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting if they wish to request an extension of time for one of these reasons.
The Chair reserves the right to terminate speech which is not Constitutionally protected because it constitutes true threats, incitement to imminent lawless conduct, comments that were found by a court of law to be defamatory, and/ or sexually explicit comments made to appeal to prurient interests. Verbal comments will also be curtailed once they exceed the time limits outlined in paragraphs 5 and 7 of this policy and/ or to the extent they exceed the scope of the School Committee’s authority.
SOURCE: MASC July 2016
LEGAL REFS.: M.G.L. c. 30A:18-22
Approved by School Committee: December 9, 2019