A B C D E F G H I J K L

The Board will conduct closed meetings, maintain records and hold votes in accordance with the Missouri Sunshine Law.

Meeting Notice

Public notice of closed meetings shall be given in accordance with Board policy and law. The motion and the vote to authorize closed session must occur in open session. The motion must include the specific reason for closing the meeting with reference to a specific section of the statute, and the vote on the motion must be taken by roll call and entered into the minutes. The motion will pass if a majority votes in the affirmative.

Posted notice of a closed meeting will include the time, date and place of the closed meeting and the reasons for holding the meeting with reference to the specific statutory exemption under which the meeting will be closed. Only business directly related to the specific statutory exemptions provided may be discussed or voted upon at a closed meeting.

Objection

In the event a motion is made to close a meeting, record or vote, and a Board member believes that the motion would violate the Missouri Sunshine Law if passed, the Board member may state his or her objection to the motion before or at the time the vote is taken. The Board secretary will enter the objection in the minutes. Once the objection has been made, the Board member shall be allowed to fully participate in the meeting, record or vote even if it is closed over the member’s objection. If the Board member voted against the motion to close the meeting, record or vote, the recorded objection and the vote constitute an absolute defense to any claim filed against the Board member pursuant to the Missouri Sunshine Law.

Meeting Location

The Board shall only close that portion of the meeting facility needed to house the Board in closed session. Members of the public must be allowed to remain in the meeting facility so that they may attend any open meeting that follows the closed meeting.

Confidentiality

The Board members, employees and others in attendance are honor bound not to disclose the details or discussions of the closed meetings, records or votes. District employees who fail to keep closed information or closed meetings confidential may be disciplined or terminated. The Board may publicly admonish Board members who fail to keep closed records and meetings confidential in violation of this policy.

Closed Topics

Pursuant to the Missouri Sunshine Law, the Board of Education hereby closes all meetings, records and votes pertaining to:

1.         Legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving the district and any confidential or privileged communications between the district or its representatives and its attorneys. Any minutes, vote or settlement agreement relating to legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving the district or an agent or entity representing the district, including any insurance company acting on the district’s behalf, shall be made public upon final disposition of the matter voted upon or upon the signing of a settlement agreement by the parties. However, in matters involving the exercise of the power of eminent domain, the vote shall be announced or become public immediately following the action on the motion to authorize institution of such legal action. Legal work product shall be considered a closed record;

A settlement agreement may be ordered closed by a court. However, the amount of any monies paid by or on behalf of the school district, pursuant to the settlement agreement, must be available to the public.

2.         Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by the district where public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal consideration therefor. However, any minutes, vote or public record approving a contract relating to the leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by the district shall be made public upon execution of the lease, purchase or sale of the real estate.

3.         Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting particular employees by the district when personal information about the employee is discussed or recorded. However, any vote on a final decision, when taken by the Board, to hire, fire, promote or discipline an employee of the district must be made available, with a record of how each member voted, to the public within 72 hours of the close of the meeting where such action occurred. The district will attempt to notify the affected employee during the 72-hour period before the decision is made available to the public. The term "personal information" means information relating to the performance or merit of individual employees. Any employee so affected shall be entitled to prompt notice before such decision is made available to the public;

4.         Nonjudicial mental or physical health proceedings involving identifiable persons, including medical, psychiatric, psychological, or alcoholism or drug dependency, diagnosis or treatment;

5.         Scholastic probation, expulsion, or graduation of identifiable individuals, including records of individual tests or examination scores. However, personally identifiable student records maintained by the district shall be open for inspection by the parents, guardian or other custodian of students under the age of 18 years and by the parents, guardian or other custodian and the student if the student is over the age of 18 years;

6.         Testing and examination materials before the test or examination is given or, if it is to be given again, before so given again;

7.         Welfare cases of identifiable individuals;

8.         Preparations on behalf of the district or its representatives for negotiations with employee groups, including any discussion or work product;

9.         Software codes for electronic data processing and documentation thereof;

10.       Specifications for competitive bidding, until either the specifications are officially approved by the Board or the specifications are published for bid;

11.       Sealed bids and related documents until the bids are opened; sealed proposals and related documents until all proposals are rejected; or any documents related to a negotiated contract until a contract is executed;

12.       Individually identifiable personnel records, performance ratings or records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment, except that this exemption shall not apply to the names, positions, salaries and lengths of service of officers and employees of the district once they are employed as such;

13.       Records that are protected from disclosure by law;

14.       Meetings and public records relating to scientific and technological innovations in which the owner has a proprietary interest.

15.       Records relating to municipal hotlines established for reporting abuse and wrongdoing.

16.       Confidential or privileged communications between the Board and its auditor, including all auditor work product. However, all final audit reports issued by the auditor are to be considered open records.

17.       Operational guidelines and policies developed, adopted or maintained by the district for use in responding to or preventing any critical incident that is or appears to be terrorist in nature and that has the potential to endanger individuals or public health or safety. When seeking to close information pursuant to this exception, the Board shall state in writing that disclosure would impair its ability to protect the health or safety of persons and that the public interest in nondisclosure outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records. Information regarding expenditures or contracts made in implementing these policies shall be open records.

18.       Existing or proposed security systems and structural plans of real property owned or leased by the district where public disclosure would threaten public safety. Procurement records or expenditures relating to security systems purchased with public funds shall be open. When the district is seeking to close this information, it must affirmatively state in writing that disclosure would impair the district’s ability to protect the security or safety of persons or real property and that the public interest in nondisclosure outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records.

19.       Records that identify and would allow unauthorized access to or unlawful disruption of the configuration of components or the operation of a computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications network of the district if released. This exception shall not be used to limit or deny access to otherwise public records in a file, document, data file or database containing public records. Records related to the procurement of or expenditures for such computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications network shall be open.

20.       Credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, digital certificates, physical and virtual keys, access codes or authorization codes that are used to protect the security of electronic transactions between the district and a person or entity doing business with the district. However, the record of a person or entity using a district credit card or any record of a transaction that is reimbursed by the district will be open.

* * * * * * *

Adopted:         10/14/1993

Revised:          06/08/1999; 11/11/2004; 06/11/2009

Cross Refs:     ECA, Building and Grounds Security

KBA, Public's Right to Know

KDA, Custodial and Noncustodial Parents

KKB, Audio and Visual Recording

Legal Refs:     § 610.010 - .029, RSMo.

St. Charles School District, St. Charles, Missouri

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