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They’re two of the most dreaded words at a school board meeting: closed session.

If you’ve ever attended a school board meeting, you’ve likely seen trustees go into a closed session and stay there for hours.

But what exactly are board members doing behind closed doors?

The Houston Landing spoke with multiple experts on the Texas Open Meetings Act to explain when school boards can go into closed session, what can be discussed in these private meetings and how the public can hold elected officials accountable.

What is a closed session?

Per Texas’ Open Meetings Act, governing bodies — such as school boards — are required to conduct their business in settings that are open to the public. However, the law grants several exceptions, permitting boards to privately discuss some topics outside of the public eye. 

Who is in the room?

There must be a quorum, or a majority, of board members present for a closed session to take place. With few exceptions, nobody else is legally allowed to attend. If trustees call the closed session to consult with lawyers, the board’s lawyer must be present. Board members cannot invite general members of the public.

What actions can be taken?

A board may not hold any official or unofficial votes, including straw polls, during a closed session — though a board member can indicate how they plan to vote on an issue. The meetings are only for private discussion. Any votes must be taken in public.

What kind of topics can be discussed?

Texas law allows — but does not require — governmental bodies to talk about numerous topics in closed sessions, several of which are often discussed by school boards.

Personnel matters: Trustees can discuss information about district employees in closed session — including discipline, firings, evaluation or hiring decisions, or to hear a complaint about an employee. The employee may attend if the board determines their presence is necessary. However, trustees must discuss these matters publicly if the affected employee requests they do so.

Closed session personnel discussions must be about specific employees. General policies that impact an entire category of employees, such as staff salaries, must be considered publicly.

Board members don’t need to publicly post the name of the employee they discuss in a meeting agenda, but they do have to be more specific if the staffer’s position is high-level, such as the superintendent.

Consulting with lawyers: A board can meet with its lawyer in closed session to discuss pending litigation or settlement offers, or to receive legal advice on anything. When a board convenes in closed session under this exception, the conversation must be strictly limited to the legal aspects of any topic. 

Real estate and property: Boards may discuss the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real estate in closed sessions. This is only allowed if discussing the matter publicly would hurt the competitiveness of the purchase. For example, landowners could raise their sale price if districts were required to publicly talk about their interest in buying a parcel of land.

Gift or donation negotiations: Boards may meet in closed session to discuss negotiations of contracts related to gifts or donations they may receive. Like the real estate exemption, board members may only do so if talking publicly would hurt the board’s ability to negotiate with the third party. 

Security issues: Board members can discuss various security issues in private, including security measures, devices or personnel. Examples include talks about setting up cameras, implementing anti-terrorism protocols and discussing the results of security audits. 

Boards are allowed to discuss such matters privately so that they’re not tipping off “the bad guys” to security weaknesses or tactics, said Joe Larsen, a Houston attorney who specializes in open governance. However, allowing boards to privately discuss security-related matters could prevent the public from knowing about security shortcomings, Larsen added.

Student information: Boards can privately discuss any matter regarding a specific student, such as disciplinary actions. However, similar to personnel discussion guidelines, the conversation must take place publicly at the request of the child’s guardian or the adult-aged student. 

Medical records: Board members call a closed meeting to discuss the medical information of a district employee or student. For example, if a teacher used up all of their paid leave while struggling with a health issue, trustees may request medical records to discuss accommodations that aren’t in the employee’s contract.

How do you know board members are following the law?

In short, you don’t. 

Nobody monitors whether a school board is following open meeting laws — particularly while in closed session. 

“The Open Meetings Act is on an honor system,” Larsen said. However, members of governmental bodies are not immune to legal ramifications if they’re found to have violated the law. Although they are not available to the public, meeting minutes are taken during closed sessions, and they can be used as evidence if a potential violation occurs.

What can you do?

District attorneys can prosecute elected officials or governmental bodies for violating open meeting laws, and any person can file a civil lawsuit if harmed by a violation.

Outside the courtroom, Larsen said, the most power lies in the hands of the people. He encouraged community members to act as their own watchdog. Attending and participating in public meetings, he said, is the first line of defense in holding elected officials accountable. 

If you believe your school board members, or any elected officials, are violating open meetings laws, you can report your concerns or questions to the Texas Attorney General’s Open Government Hotline. Call (512) 478-6736, or toll-free at (877) 673-6839. If nobody answers, leave a message with your contact information.

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