BILL ANALYSIS
| Senate Research Center | S.B. 413 |
| | By: Middleton |
| | Local Government |
| | 3/7/2025 |
| | As Filed |
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
School board officials are elected public servants representing their constituents. However, many of the resources constituents use to track their elected representatives in the legislature are not present for school board officials. In some districts, in order to request the votes of a school board member an individual must file a public information request which is a burdensome process that often takes some time to receive a response. Additionally, minutes that could provide clarity to what occurred during the proceedings are not required to show votes, and are often made available months after the meeting and voting have taken place.
A school board could also decline to publish minutes entirely by posting a recording of the proceedings. In this case, it is often difficult to discern how the members voted, and requires watching multiple hearings to find a specific item they voted on without minutes to outline the proceedings.
S.B. 413 would increase transparency of school boards to the voter by requiring a school board to add the vote of each member to their meeting minutes, and make those minutes available on their website within seven days of the vote taking place. The bill would also require school boards to post both the minutes and recording of the proceedings on the internet.
As proposed, S.B. 413 amends current law relating to the meetings of the boards of trustees of independent school districts.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 11.0621, Education Code, as follows:
Sec. 11.0621. MEETINGS. (a) Creates this subsection from existing text. Requires that the minutes, rather than the minutes, certified agenda, or recording, as applicable, of a regular or special meeting of the board of trustees (board) reflect each member's:
(1) creates this subdivision from existing text and makes no further changes; and
(2) vote on any item that is voted on by the board at the meeting.
(b) Requires the board to post on the district's Internet website the minutes described by Subsection (a) not later than the seventh day after the date of a meeting at which a quorum of the board is present and voting and any resolution adopted by the board not later than the seventh day after the date of the meeting at which the resolution was adopted.
(c) Creates this subsection from existing text. Requires that the minutes and tape recording, rather than the minutes or tape recording, of an open meeting be accessible to the public in accordance with Section 551.022 (Minutes and Recording of Open Meeting: Public Record), Government Code.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2025.
