Compliance with the Open Meetings Law provides for transparency and accountability and is vital to good school board governance. This webinar will provide an overview of the North Carolina Open Meetings Law as it applies to local school board members and official school board meetings. Topics will include types of meetings, notice requirements, open versus closed sessions, meeting minutes, public access and attendance, electronic and remote meetings, and other current and emerging issues related to legally compliant school board meetings.

Presented by: Jim O’Rourke, Assistant Legal Counsel for Superintendent Searches

In this two-hour webinar, we will discuss the ethical standards established by state law for school board members. The webinar will also include a discussion of state and federal laws related to conflicts of interest pertaining to making and administering contracts and possible legal consequences when these laws are violated. Finally, this webinar will review other well-established legal duties and responsibilities of school board members.

Webinar access is for the entire board and school district.

There will be an ethics sessions for individual school boards members available in May.

The chair of a local board of education is responsible for presiding over meetings of the board, but what other duties does the chair have? Join this webinar for an overview of how board meetings are to be organized, scheduling and calling meetings, setting agendas, permissible reasons for closed session, and other essential topics.

Presented by: Janine Murphy, Assistant Legal Counsel

Are communications sent via private electronic devices and accounts public records? Can board members be held personally liable for failing to comply with the public records law? What questions should board members ask to assess their district’s compliance with the law? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, make plans to attend this webinar for a primer on North Carolina’s public records law.

Presented by: Kathy Boyd, Senior Staff Attorney

When a school district hosts activities and individuals during extracurricular and co-curricular activities the district voluntarily assumes some risks of liability. Those risks are even greater in a global pandemic. This webinar will cover the school’s potential liability risk and defenses when hosting school events; the liability risks of “shutting down” some, or all, extracurricular activities or visitors during the pandemic; and creative approaches to protecting students and staff while minimizing risks.

Presented by: Nancy Black, Staff Attorney