Board Bylaws 1-7: Meeting Procedures

I. Introduction

This Board Rule provides clarity on various Board Meeting procedures including: the typical order of business, how the agendas for Board Meetings are developed, public participation at Board Meetings, and the rules of order that govern Board Meetings.

II. Order of Business

At each meeting of the Board of Education, the President shall call the meeting to order. The Secretary shall immediately call the roll of members.

The typical order of business shall be as follows:

• Safety Announcement
• President's Statement
• Honoring Excellence
• CEO's Remarks
• Committee Updates
• Public Participation
• CEO Presentations & Progress Monitoring
• Discussion of Public Agenda Items
• Vote on Public Agenda Items
• Closed Session
• Adjournment

The order of business shall be as noted in the agenda published for the particular meeting. However, the Board can amend the order of business, either by unanimous consent or by a two-thirds vote. The processes for developing a meeting agenda is stated below.

III. Agenda

• Agenda Creation

  1. Generally
     The Board President shall establish the agenda for each Board Meeting. In alignment with 5 ILCS 120/2.02(c), any Board Meeting agenda required by OMA shall set forth the general subject matter of any resolution or ordinance that will be the subject of final action at the meeting. The Board shall transact business according to the agenda.
  2. Standard Items of Business
     The Board President shall use the following process to establish which items of business (items which require Board Action, such as Resolutions and Board Reports) to include on the agenda.

     • The Board President shall include on the agenda all items of business that are proposed by:

       • the Chief Executive Officer;
       • the Chief Education Officer;
       • the Chief Financial Officer;
       • the Chief Operating Officer;
       • the Chief Procurement Officer;
       • the General Counsel; or
       • any Committee of the Board.
     • At any time, the Board President may add any other item of business to the Agenda at their discretion.
     • The Board President shall determine which items of business shall be considered in the Closed Session of the Board Meeting, according to applicable law.
     • The Board President shall determine which items will constitute the consent items, that is, items for action assigned by the Board at the Meeting to be adopted by a single vote. Any item may be pulled off of consent for further discussion by any Board Member at any time before action is taken.
  3. Board Member Initiated Items of Business
     • Any Board Member may propose an item of business (items which require Board Action, such as Resolutions and Board Reports) for adoption by the Board. The process shall be consistent with the following requirements:
       1. The Board Member shall submit the item of business to the Board President in writing; and
       2. The Board Member shall submit the item of business to the Board President at least twenty-one (21) calendar days in advance of the Regular Board Meeting, to permit appropriate review and comment by the General Counsel;
       3. General Counsel must complete the review and comment process within seven (7) calendar days;
       4. The Board Member shall submit no more than one (1) item of business per Board Meeting; and
       5. The Board President will place the item of business on the agenda for initial consideration by the full Board; and
       6. If a majority of the Board votes in favor of the business item, the business item shall be assigned to an appropriate Committee by the Board President; and
       7. Once the Board sends an item of business to a Committee, the Committee shall consider that item of business like any other matter before that Committee pursuant to Board Rule 1-8.III.
       8. Any item of business approved for consideration at a future Board meeting shall be laid over for no more than three (3) consecutive meetings pursuant to Board Rule 1-7.V.G.
     • Board Member initiated items of business may have more than one sponsor, but are limited by the Open Meeting Laws to having less than a quorum discuss an item of business by any means outside of a properly noticed meeting. Less than a quorum of the Board for any item of business can be listed as cosponsors when the resolution is first presented to the Board President or added as cosponsors by notification from the originating Board Member and the verification of the added cosponsor. Cosponsorship can also be listed by the request of a Board Member when the item of business is discussed at a properly noticed meeting.

• Agenda Posting

  1. Regular Meetings
     In alignment with 5 ILCS 120/2.02(a), an agenda for each meeting shall be posted at the District’s Central Office and at the location where the meeting is to be held at least 48 hours in advance of the holding of the meeting. The Board shall also post on its website the agenda of any meetings. Any agenda that is posted on the website shall remain posted on the website until the meeting is concluded.

  2. Other Meetings
     In alignment with 5 ILCS 120/2.02(a), public notice of any special meeting except a meeting held in the event of a bona fide emergency, or of any rescheduled regular meeting, or of any reconvened meeting, shall be given at least 48 hours before such meeting, which notice shall also include the agenda for the special, rescheduled, or reconvened meeting, but the validity of any action taken by the public body which is germane to a subject on the agenda shall not be affected by other errors or omissions in the agenda.

     The requirement of public notice of reconvened meetings does not apply to any case where the meeting was open to the public and (1) it is to be reconvened within 24 hours, or (2) an announcement of the time and place of the reconvened meeting was made at the original meeting and there is no change in the agenda. Notice of an emergency meeting shall be given as soon as practicable, but in any event prior to the holding of such meeting, to any news medium which has filed an annual request for notice under subsection (b) of 5 ILCS 120/2.02.

IV. Public Participation

In alignment with 105 ILCS 5/34-19.1, at each meeting that is open to the public, members of the public and employees of the District shall be afforded time, subject to reasonable constraints, to address the Board.

In alignment with 5 ILCS 120/2.06(g), any person shall be permitted an opportunity to address public officials under the rules established and recorded by the public body. The Board President shall establish and publish guidelines that will govern the public participation portion of each Board Meeting. The guidelines must include, but not be limited to, the following:

• In order to increase access to a diversity of voices, members of the general public:
  • Shall be allotted no more than two (2) minutes to speak at a Meeting; and
  • May not speak at two (2) consecutive Board Meetings or more than one meeting per month.
• In order to ensure opportunities for union representatives and elected officials to address the Board, those individuals shall be allotted no more than five (5) minutes to speak.
• All individuals registered for public participation shall:
  • Not cede their time to any other individual; and
  • Refrain from comments of a personal nature and/or comments unrelated to the operations of the Board and CPS.
• Individuals registered for public participation or attending the Meeting as observers shall:
  • Refrain from using profane language or providing any unsolicited comments;
  • Refrain from engaging in any disruptive behavior;
  • Refrain from bringing any hand-held posters or placards into the Meeting space.

V. Rules of Order

• Generally

  Rules of order during a meeting are a critical component to ensuring that the business is conducted in a civil, productive, and timely manner. Unless otherwise specified in Board Rule 1-7.V, the Board’s conduct of business at Board Meetings shall be governed by the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. The General Counsel, or designee, shall serve as parliamentarian at all Board Meetings.

• Rules for Efficiency of Board Meetings

  1. Early Adjournment: Board Meetings may adjourn a meeting early if two-thirds of the Board Members present vote in favor of adjourning the meeting.
  2. Board Member Speaking Time: In the interest of providing equity of voice and opportunities for viewpoints of all Board Members to be heard, the Board President or Board Member acting as Chair of the meeting, shall recognize each Board Member to address the Board for a maximum of five (5) minutes per item before the Board Member is asked to relinquish the opportunity to speak. This Board Member shall not speak again on this item until the other Board Members have had an opportunity to be heard, if needed, and be limited to a maximum of three (3) additional minutes of speaking time on the item. The time provided for response to the Board Member’s question(s) shall not apply to these speaking time limits. The Board Secretary shall oversee the timing of the discussions and inform the Chair when a Board Member’s time has expired.

• Motion to Vote Immediately (Call for the Question)

  A motion to vote immediately (call for the question) is to prevent or stop all discussion on the motion before the Board. The motion requires a second and a two-thirds majority of full membership of the Board.

• Order of Discussion

  Preference is given to first hear the maker and seconder of a motion before the Board and then Board Members are heard in the order that they have requested to speak. The manner by which Board Members request to speak shall be established by the Board President.

• Division of the Question

  Any Board Member present can request that a motion composed of two (2) or more independent parts or ideas be divided to allow the parts to be considered and voted upon separately.

• Motion to Recess

  The Chair may temporarily recess a meeting for a specified time, or when called to order, by the Chair of the meeting. The motion passes with a majority of the Board Members voting upon it.

• Withdrawing and Laying Over Agenda Items

  1. The CEO or Board Member who initiated an agenda item may withdraw the item without prejudice before it is deemed to belong to the Board. The agenda item shall be deemed to belong to the Board when the Order of the Meeting has been stated by the Chair. After the Order of the Meeting is stated, the agenda item can only be withdrawn with the consent of the majority of the Board Members present at the meeting.
  2. Any Board Member may make a motion to Lay Over any agenda item presented by the CEO or Board Member initiated agenda item. Laying Over an agenda item shall require a majority of the Board Members voting upon the motion and shall be laid over for one meeting; provided, however, that no matter shall be so laid over for more than three (3) consecutive Board Meetings. The agenda item so deferred shall be published in the proceedings of the Board Meeting.

• Votes Required – Recording of Vote

  The Board Secretary shall record the Ayes and Noes of the Board Members voting questions pending before the Board. The following establishes a non-exhaustive list for the minimum number of Ayes required for Board approval.

  1. Actions requiring a majority of full membership:
     • CEO appointment
     • School site selection, textbooks, education apparatus and equipment
     • Establishment of Departments
     • General Counsel appointment and removal
     • Appointment, Promotion, and Discharge of Assistant Attorneys
     • Establishment of Board by-laws and Rules
     • Use of special funds to purchase tax anticipation warrants
     • Resale of tax anticipation warrants
     • Election of Vice President
     • Moving a Board Member initiated item of business to an appropriate Committee
  2. Actions requiring two-thirds majority of full membership:
     • Establishment of Board Policies
     • Readoption of Board Rules and Policies
     • Repealing, amending, or adding to by-laws, Rules, Policies, and regulations
     • Sale of Real Estate
     • Leases over ten (10) years that the Board enters, renews, or amends
     • Supplemental budget for which the Board increases taxable property
     • Supplemental budget for emergencies
     • Transfers between appropriations
  3. Actions requiring three-fourths majority of full membership:
     • Emergency expenditures
     • Increase ceiling of commission paid to licensed real estate broker
  4. Actions in Board Rule 1-7.V.H shall not supersede the minimum number of Ayes needed to pass pursuant to other Rules, federal and state law or regulations, or City of Chicago ordinances.

• Motion to Reconsider

  A motion to reconsider an action taken by the Board can be approved by a majority of the full membership of the Board. The motion can only be made on the day the vote to be reconsidered was taken or, provided the motion to reconsider is included in the Order of Business, at the next Regular Meeting or at any Special Meeting held in the interval. The motion to reconsider must be made by a Board Member who did not vote with the non-prevailing side in the original vote and whose reconsidered vote could change the original outcome. In the case of a tie vote, any Board Member may initiate a motion to reconsider. Any Member can second the motion.

• Motion to Rescind

  A motion to rescind prior action of the Board requires the same requisite votes needed to pass the prior action of the Board, such as majority or two-thirds majority of the Board. The motion to rescind shall be previously noticed to the entire Board. If the motion to rescind passes, the prior action is nullified.

• Line Item Veto

  For any agenda item requesting authority for multiple actions/items/transactions, the Board shall have the right, at its discretion, to strike or decline approval for any one or more action/item/transaction identified on such agenda item without voiding the remainder of the agenda item. Any Board Member may make a motion to line item veto actions/items/transactions within the agenda item. Such motions must be seconded. The Board will proceed to vote on the agenda item with the line item(s) stricken from the agenda item and shall prevail in accordance with the minimum Ayes needed to pass pursuant to Board Rule 1-7.V.H or as otherwise provided by law or Board Rules.

• Changing a Vote During a Meeting

  During a meeting, excluding any recesses that take the meeting to another day, a Board Member can request to change their vote on a previous item without requiring a motion to reconsider, as long as the change does not change the outcome of the original vote and as long as there is no objection from another Board Member. The request and the change must be duly noted in the minutes of the meeting.

• Abstention from Voting

  In accordance with the Code of Ethics (Board Policy 503.1), Board Members shall abstain and state the basis for the abstention via the monthly conflicts check, as to any matter that comes before the Board in which the Board Member might have any economic interest as defined by Code of Ethics the or other conflict of interest that renders the Board Member unable to cast a vote.