Open Sessions
The DIRI Board of Directors meets the third Tuesday of every month at 12:00 to 1:30 MST through a "Go to Meeting" online forum. The members and public are welcome to attend the meeting online by requesting information through the DIRI front office for call-in numbers for any meeting. If an individual wishes to address the DIRI Board of Directors, he or she may have three minutes to speak during the open session, audience participation portion of the meeting. To schedule time to address the board, please send your request to bod-admin@rolf.org so time is scheduled.
Audience Participation
The Board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of involving members of the public in its meetings. In order to permit fair and orderly expression of such comment, the Board will provide a period during certain Board meetings when visitors may present to the Board, or listen to certain discussions by the Board. Such presentations will be scheduled in advance.
If you wish to address the Board during a meeting, please coordinate with the Board Chair no less than 14 days in advance of the meeting unless otherwise not possible.
Plan to arrive to the Board meeting early and sign in. The Board Chair will acknowledge the individual(s) wishing to address the Board at the stated time on the agenda and provide direction for so doing. The Board Chair has the responsibility to terminate any statement that is too lengthy; personally directed to a DIRI employee, member, student, or community member; or abusive, obscene, or irrelevant.
Audience protocol shall be as follows:
- The audience shall be expected to remain quiet during the meeting.
- All cell phones and other electronic devices shall be turned off or set to vibrate.
- The audience shall be expected to refrain from audibly commenting during the business portion of the meeting.
- If disruption occurs, the President of the Board shall have the authority to ensure order through verbal warnings and/or removal of the individual or individuals from the premises, or from the online meeting system.
Members and the public are provided two ways to address the Board. The first way is to directly contact the Chair of the Board or individual board members through email correspondence. The second way is through the public comment portion of certain regularly scheduled meetings and/or the face-to-face meetings scheduled twice per year.
The following rules shall apply to the public comment portion:
- Speakers must register prior to the regular Board meeting with the Manager of Member Services 24 hours prior to the Board meeting to be placed on the sign up sheet and given the phone conference call in number for the time on the agenda set aside for Public Comment, generally at the start of each meeting.
- The public comment presentation shall be limited to a maximum audience time of 30 minutes, or as deemed appropriate by the Board Chair. Each speaker is limited to a maximum time of three minutes. No more than ten individuals shall be permitted to speak, and the time allotted for each speaker shall be three minutes. If fewer than ten individuals register to address the Board, the three-minute rule shall still apply to each speaker. Individuals speaking on the same topic are encouraged to select a spokesperson to present the group’s views.
- The Board Chair may direct the Executive Director to review and respond to the request or concerns of the speaker and report back to the Board through written or electronic transmittal or at a designated meeting.
- The Board Chair shall recognize Board members prior to any member, asking clarifying questions or making statements of the Board.
- Negative comments or complaints regarding individual staff, faculty, students, members or others fall under the grievance policy. The Board will not entertain such comments in public session given the requirements of employment law, and DIRI policies.
Specific factual information or recitation of existing policy may be furnished in response to inquiries, but the Board shall not deliberate or make decisions regarding any subject that is not included on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting. The Chair, or designee, shall determine whether a person addressing the Board has attempted to solve a matter administratively through resolution channels established by policy. If not, the person shall be referred to the appropriate policy
The Board shall not tolerate disruption of the meeting by members of the audience. If, after at least one warning from the Chair, any person continues to disrupt the meeting by his or her words or actions, the presiding officer may request assistance from law enforcement officials to have the person removed from the meeting.
Executive Sessions
Executive Sessions are not open to the public and may be called only for the following reasons by vote of the Board of Directors specified in California Civil Code Section 1363.05(b) are: (1) litigation, (2) matters relating to the formation of contracts with third parties, (3) member discipline, (4) personnel matters and (5) meeting with a member regarding the member's payment of assessments.
California Corporations Code Section 8320(a)(2) requires that :
- Each corporation shall keep minutes of the proceedings of its members, board and committees of the board. Since boards discuss official business and take official actions at executive sessions, executive sessions are "proceedings of [the] board". Therefore, the board is required to keep separate minutes of all executive sessions.
- Further support for this conclusion is found in Civil Code Sections 1363.05(d), 1365.2(a)(1)(H) and 1365.2(d)(1)(E)(iv). Each of these sections make express reference to executive session minutes, confirming that the legislature considers "executive sessions" to be "proceedings of the board".
- Only in rare cases will the Board of Directors take action in an Executive Session.