9327 - Electronic Communications Among Board Members

Bylaws of the Board

Meetings

9327 - Electronic Communications Among Board Members

The Board of Education (Board) believes that electronic communication among its members and the administration is an efficient and convenient way to disseminate information, but must not be misused to deliberate issues that are appropriately discussed only in a public meeting. Therefore, Board members and administrators shall exercise caution when communicating between and among themselves via electronic messaging services including but not limited to email, internet web forums and internet chat rooms. Electronic messaging communication shall conform to the same standards of judgment, propriety and ethics as other forms of board-related communication (committee meetings, telephone calls, etc.). Board members shall adhere to the following guidelines when communicating electronically:

1. Board members shall not use email or any other electronic messaging service as a substitute for deliberations at Board meetings. (A Board member may discuss District business in person or by electronic means with only one other Board member at a time. However, a Board member should not facilitate interactive communication by discussing District business in a series of visits with, or use of emails or telephone calls to Board members individually.)

2. Board members shall be aware that email and email attachments received or prepared for use in Board business may be considered public records that may be open to public disclosure, upon request.

3. Board members shall avoid reference to confidential information about employees, students, or to others in email communications because of the risk of improper disclosure.

4. Board members shall adhere to the District’s “acceptable use” policy in all email communications and refrain from sending inappropriate, profane, harassing or abusive emails.

5. The Superintendent or designee is permitted to email information to Board members. This can include Board meeting agendas and supporting information. When responding to a single Board member’s request, the Superintendent should copy all other Board members and include a “do not reply/forward” alert to the group, such as “BOARD MEMBER ALERT: This email is in response to a request. Do not reply or forward to the group but only to the sender.”

6. Board members are permitted to provide information to each other, whether in person or by electronic means, that is non-deliberative and non-substantive. Examples of this type of communication include scheduling meetings and confirming receipt of information.

7. A Board member should include a “do not reply/forward” alert when emailing a message concerning District business to more than one other Board member. The following is an example of such an alert: “BOARD MEMBER ALERT: This email is not for interactive discussion purposes. The recipient should not reply to it or forward it to any other individual.”

8. Board members are permitted to discuss any matter except District business with each other, whether in person or by electronic means, regardless of the number of members participating in the discussion. (For example, they may discuss league sports, work, current events, etc.)

9. IF BOARD MEMBERS ARE NETWORKED TO THE DISTRICT SYSTEM, THE FOLLOWING MAY BE APPROPRIATE:

Board members shall not reveal their passwords to others in the network or to anyone outside of it, except to the system administrator. If any Board member has reason to believe a password has been lost or stolen, or that email is being accessed by someone without authorization, he/she shall notify the Superintendent of Schools immediately.

The following guidelines should be considered regarding the conducting of a survey on an issue among Board members using electronic means:

1. Board members shall not use surveys, email or any other electronic messaging service as a substitute for deliberations at Board meetings.

2. Surveying will not be used for topics referring to confidential information about employees, students or others in email communications because of the risk of improper disclosure.

3. The district will avoid the appearance of conducting Board discussion or actions, in which opinions are exchanged among a quorum of Board members through repeated survey questions and answers, outside an open public meeting.

The Board shall annually review its electronic communication policy and practices with the Board attorney.

Legal References:

Connecticut General Statutes

The Freedom of Information Act

1-200 Definitions

1-210 Access to public records. Exempt records

1-211 Disclosure of computer-stored public records

Bylaw Adopted: June 14, 2012

Revised: November 2019