Use this exhibit to document the Board’s and/or its committee(s)’s (5 ILCS 120/1.02) processes to comply with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when a board and/or its committee(s) must meet during a disaster declaration related to a public health emergency/concern and the meeting will have no physical presence of a quorum and participation by audio or video. 

Note: If a Board committee uses this exhibit, replace Board President, Vice President, and Supt. with the appropriate committee leaders. 

Consult the Board Attorney for guidance.

Documentation of OMA Requirements for Board Members to Participate in a Meeting with No Physical Presence of Quorum 

☐ The Governor or the Director of the Ill. Dept. of Public Health has issued a disaster declaration related to a public health emergency because of a disaster as defined in 20 ILCS 3305/4, and all or part of the jurisdiction of the Board is covered by the disaster area. 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(1), amended by P.A. 101-640. Note: OMA uses “public health concerns,” but the Ill. Emergency Management Act (IEMA) uses “public health emergency;” this exhibit matches the IEMA term because it governs disaster declarations.

☐ The Board President or, if the office is vacant or the President is absent or unable to perform the office’s duties, the Vice President, or if neither the President nor Vice President are present or able to perform this determination, the Superintendent (5 ILCS 120/7(e)(2), amended by P.A. 101-640, and 140/2(e)) signs below that the following three Steps were executed by:

Step 1.    Determining whether the meeting is a bona fide emergency (5 ILCS 120/7(e)(7), amended by P.A. 101-640) (check Yes or No, below):

☐ Yes; it is an emergency meeting, and I:

1. Notified the Board members and the public, including any news medium which has filed an annual request for notice of meetings as soon as practicable, but in any event prior to the holding of such meeting pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2.02(a) and 120/7(e)(7)(A), amended by P.A. 101-640;

2. Stated the nature of the emergency at the beginning of the meeting; and

3. Provided the Superintendent or Board Secretary the resources necessary during the meeting to keep a verbatim record of the meeting, for both open and closed, and managed it the same way that the Board complies with the verbatim recording requirements for closed meetings (see exhibit 2:220-E1, Board Treatment of Closed Meeting Verbatim Recordings and Minutes). Note: In this situation, a verbatim recording is not limited to closed meetings only.

4. Move to Step 2, below.

☐ No; it is a regular or special meeting, and I:

1. Ensured that the Board provided 48 hours’ notice of the meeting to all Board members, to any news medium on file in the District that have requested notice of meetings pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2.02(a), and to members of the public by posting it on the District’s website. 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(7), amended by P.A. 101-640.  Note: 5 ILCS 120/7(e), amended by P.A. 101-640 does not have the “if any” exception for school boards that do not have websites. Consult the board attorney regarding alternate ways to communicate notice of a meeting when the District does not have a website and a Disaster Declaration or Executive Order has been issued.

1. Moves to Step 2, below.

Step 2. Determining whether it is practical, prudent, or feasible for any in-person attendance at the regular meeting location (5 ILCS 120/7(e)(2), amended by P.A. 101-640).  (check Yes or No, below): 

☐ Yes; in-person attendance is practical, prudent, or feasible, and I:

1. Ensured that at least one Board member, the Board Attorney, or the Superintendent was physically present at the regular meeting location (5 ILCS 120/7(e)(5), amended by P.A. 101-640), and

2. Verified that members of the public who were present could hear all discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of the Board. 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(4), amended by P.A. 101-640.

3. Move to Step 3, below.

☐ No; in-person attendance is not practical, prudent, or feasible, and I:

1. Made a written determination referring to the specific Executive Order or Disaster Declaration citing the public health concern/emergency that applies to the Board and the meeting. 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(1) and (2), amended by P.A. 101-640.

2. Included the written determination made in letter A., above, on the Board’s published notice and agenda for the alternative arrangements for the meeting. 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(7)(A)-(B), amended by P.A. 101-640.

3. Offered the alternative arrangements to the public by offering a telephone number or a web-based link. 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(4), amended by P.A. 101-640.

1. Move to Step 3, below. 

Step 3. During the meeting, I:

☐ Directed the Recording Secretary to, in addition to the requirements for open meetings under OMA, also keep verbatim record of the open meeting by recording it and making it open and available to the public under all provisions of OMA. 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(9), amended by P.A. 101-640. Sample text follows below in the subhead below Report to the Public Following the Board’s Meeting with No Physical Presence of Quorum.

☐ Read my written determination referring to the specific Executive Order or Disaster Declaration citing the public health concern/emergency that applies to the Board and the meeting and directed the Recording Secretary to include it in the meeting minutes.

☐ Ensured that any interested member of the public has access to contemporaneously hear all discussion, testimony, and roll call votes. 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(4), amended by P.A. 101-640.

☐ Requested the Recording Secretary to enter into the appropriate minutes of the Board that each Board member participating in the meeting, wherever their physical locations, announced:

1. Themselves present (5 ILCS 120/7(e)(3), amended by P.A. 101-640), and 

2. A verification that they could hear one another and all discussion and testimony. Id.

See 2:220-E3, Closed Meeting Minutes and/or 2:220-E4, Open Meeting Minutes.

☐ Announced and considered each Board member participating in the meeting present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all proceedings (5 ILCS 120/7(e)(8), amended by P.A. 101-640) and directed the Recording Secretary to reflect it in the minutes (best practice for transparency).

☐ Conducted all votes by roll call, so each Board member’s vote on each issue could be identified and recorded (5 ILCS 120/7(e)(6), amended by P.A. 101-640), and ensured that the Recording Secretary entered all votes as Roll Call Votes (Use exhibit 2:220-E4, Open Meeting Minutes but ensure all votes are recorded as roll call votes pursuant to the example below.):

Motion:  ☐ Carried    ☐ Failed

☐ Executed or directed execution of the subhead below Report to the Public Following the Board’s Meeting with No Physical Presence of Quorum.

Report to the Public Following the Board’s Meeting with No Physical Presence of Quorum

The text below may be used for the actual report. 

The School Board met on [insert date] with no physical presence of quorum to conduct its business.

The verbatim [circle one] audio | video recording of this meeting is available to the public under all provisions of OMA and will be destroyed pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2.06(c)(no less than 18 months after the completion of the meeting recorded but only after: (1) the Board approves the destruction of the particular recording; and (2) the Board approves minutes of the meeting that meet the written minutes requirements of OMA). 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(9), amended by P.A. 101-640.

Note: Consult the board attorney for guidance on the destruction of a verbatim recording of an open meeting without the physical presence of a quorum. While 5 ILCS 120/2.06(c) refers to the process for destroying closed session verbatim recordings, 5 ILCS 120/7(e)(9), amended by P.A. 101-640, applies that process for destroying closed session verbatim recordings to the destruction of the verbatim open session recordings that are required when a board determines it is necessary for it to meet without the physical presence of a quorum due to a public health emergency.

Completed By:                    

Title:                         

ADOPTED:      August 17, 2020