Open Public Meetings Act

The law applies to the governing bodies of state and local public agencies, including city councils, county commissions, and special-purpose district boards. It also covers certain committees that exercise decision-making authority.

A meeting is defined as a gathering of a quorum (a majority) of a governing body with the collective intent to transact public business. This includes communication via electronic media, such as email or text messages, often referred to as “serial meetings.”

Public agencies must provide adequate public notice for regular and special meetings. Meetings must be held in person, with remote access available, unless a state of emergency is declared. Specifically, regular meetings must be publicly posted with time, place, and date. Special meetings require at least 48 hours’ written notice.

The public has the right to attend, but not necessarily to speak during a meeting. Public bodies must allow video and sound recordings, provided they are not disruptive.

A governing body can enter a closed “executive session” for specific, legally defined purposes, such as discussing potential litigation or employee performance. Before the session begins, the presiding officer must state the purpose and expected length of the session. No final action can be taken during an executive session.

Under RCW 42.30.035 and RCW 28A.400.030, minutes (recorded or written) must be maintained for all meetings and retained for at least one year. Recordings must be publicly accessible upon request.

Public agencies are required to take minutes at all open public meetings, which must be made available for public inspection.

No action—including a motion to table—may be taken. Without a quorum, the board cannot conduct business under OPMA. Items remain pending for the next properly convened meeting.

Any official action taken during a meeting that violates the OPMA is null and void. In addition, individual members of a governing body who knowingly attend a meeting in violation of the act can face a civil penalty.

Yes. Directors must disclose potential conflicts (e.g., spouse employment), recuse themselves, and ensure the recusal is documented. Ethics rules are governed by the Washington State Ethics in Public Service Act. Learn more about conflicts of interest.

Per RCW 24.03A.565, a quorum equals a majority of the total board seats, not just those filled. For a five-member board, three are required—even if vacancies exist.

Under the Washington OPMA, specifically RCW 42.30.035, school districts must keep recorded minutes of their regular and special board meetings.

The recordings must be made available to the public on demand, and the written minutes must then be approved as minutes at the following board meeting.

Recordings and notes must be kept in compliance with the district retention policies, but in no case for less than a year. RCW 28A.400.030 makes the superintendent responsible for ensuring that minutes are recorded for all board meetings. However, the law does not specify the format of either written or recorded minutes. Most districts maintain both types.

To satisfy the need to memorialize certain actions, such as the adoption of a policy or budget, the minutes should, at a minimum, record the significant actions of the agency.

This is a good question, and one that comes up constantly in official government work. The short answer is that, under the Public Records Act (PRA), any records created, owned, used, or retained by a school director on a personal device that relate to official business may be considered public records and are discoverable.

In layman’s terms—you will be turning over your phone—personal info notwithstanding, if necessary to meet a legal request or challenge for the records recorded  in the device.

The Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) requires directors to ensure that any communications or decision-making involving official business comply with OPMA. This includes maintaining transparency, and records held in personal devices are public records as commonly understood.

Penalties for failure to maintain and/or provide these records fully and as requested can result in legal penalties, and the director and the district could be fined or face other penalties. In some cases, directors may be personally liable.

An example of this is a director using their phone to discuss a new board policy with another member via text.The director then fails to retain these texts as public records and does not disclose them in response to a public records request. There will be fines and penalties, not to mention the damage to the board’s overall reputation.

Your district should have clear policies on the expectations for directors’ use of digital communication. All board members need to be aware of and in compliance with those policies. You might consider adding an app like Teams to your director’s phones so they can keep their work calls separate from their personal calls on their own devices. Logs could then be created without having to take the individual’s personal phone away to generate the material requested under a public records request.

In Washington state, the Open Public Meetings Act requires that all regular and special meetings of the board, where actions are taken or formal public testimony is accepted, must be audio recorded and kept for at least one year. However, this rule does not explicitly address school board retreats.

Typically, school board retreats are considered informal gatherings focused on team building, strategic planning, or professional development, and they do not involve final actions or formal public testimony. Therefore, they generally do not need to be recorded. Nevertheless, it is always a good idea to check your school board policies or consult legal counsel if you ever have any questions.