SPONSOR:   

Rep. Hudson & Sen. Peterson;

 

Reps. Briggs King, Dukes, Hensley, Yearick, Baumbach, Bolden, Jaques, Lynn, Matthews, Osienski, Paradee, K. Williams; Sens. Bonini, Lavelle

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

148th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 

HOUSE BILL NO. 61

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

 


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

 


Section 1.  Amend Chapter 2, Title 14, Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 208.  Digital recording of board meetings.

All boards of education of public school districts, vocational-technical high school districts, and all boards of directors of charter schools shall digitally record all of their public meetings and shall make the recordings available to the public on the districts’ or charter schools’ websites within seven (7) business days of each meeting.  These recordings shall remain available on the website for at least 1 year after their posting on the website.  These recordings are not official board minutes, but are a means to enhance communication to the public and to State legislators.  The requirements of this section do not apply to board executive sessions, or workshops and retreats where no voting will take place.

Section 2.  This Act shall become effective 90 days after enactment.



SYNOPSIS

This bill requires that all public meetings of the boards of education of public school districts, vo-tech school districts, and public meetings of charter schools’ boards of directors be digitally recorded and made available to the public on the districts’ and charter schools’ websites within seven business days.  The recordings will not be considered the official board minutes.

Currently the Red Clay Consolidated School District, Christina School District, and the Capital School District on a voluntary basis approved by their boards of education have been providing the public digital recordings of their board public session meetings via the district’s websites.

The Delaware State Board of Education is required by the State Board of Education to make available within one business day digital recordings of its board meetings on the Delaware Department of Education’s website.