Tennessee Open Meetings Act

17 May, 2014

Does private dinner between two governing bodies violate TN’s Sunshine Law?

By |2014-06-11T10:27:30-05:00May 17, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: , , , |1 Comment

Kingsport and Johnson City boards plan secret dinner to get to know each other, but may discuss annexations, economic development and even a regional park. Investigative reporter Nate Morabito with WJHL in Johnson City pressed government officials in a May 16 story about a private dinner meeting planned between the entire Johnson City Commission and the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman. Does it violate the Sunshine Law, which says all meetings of governing bodies should be open to the public? Morabito digs into that question and quotes Tennessee Coalition for Open Government pointing out how difficult it would be to have an entire city commission together and control discussion of public business [...]

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14 Apr, 2014

Charter schools win teleconferencing exception to open meetings

By |2015-08-18T07:53:12-05:00April 14, 2014|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings, schools|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Charter schools are getting a special carve out in this legislative session with a teleconferencing exception to open meetings law that allows their board members to meet via teleconference, videoconference or other electronic means without having a physical quorum in one location. Charter schools that operate in Tennessee are subject to the state's sunshine laws, meaning their governing bodies must publish notice of upcoming meetings, hold open meetings in which the public can attend and follow all other requirements of the Open Meetings Act. But the new law would give charter school boards the extra ability to meet via teleconference, videoconference or other electronic means as long as they provide a physical [...]

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9 Apr, 2014

Commercial Appeal reports possible open meetings violations by a charter school

By |2019-09-11T16:17:10-05:00April 9, 2014|Categories: adequate public notice, school boards|Tags: , , , , |1 Comment

The Commercial Appeal reports today on possible open meetings violations by a charter school, the Memphis Academy of Health Sciences. The potential violations came during two meetings, one in which the charter school board voted to make board chairman Derrick Joyce the interim executive director. Board member Dionysia Smith-Richardson told The Commercial Appeal that there was not public notice of the two board meetings in January, including one called as a special emergency board meeting, and they were not held in compliance with the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. Public charter schools by law are subject to the Tennessee Open Meetings Act, which requires adequate public notice of meetings. Smith-Richardson also [...]

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14 Mar, 2014

Greene County school board chairman apologizes over TV camera ban

By |2015-08-18T07:55:08-05:00March 14, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings, school boards|Tags: , , , , |1 Comment

The Greene County school board chairman apologized last night to "the board and to the public" over the TV camera ban from its public meeting last month, according to WJHL News Channel 11 and The Greeneville Sun. The board also proposed language that would change its camera policy. The policy allows the school board to prohibit cameras, including TV cameras, and is recommended by the Tennessee School Boards Association. However, an Tennessee Attorney General's opinion about banning cameras from public meetings says they should only be prohibited if they create a safety problem or disturb the orderly conduct of the meeting. Neither of those reasons was given to the WJHL [...]

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6 Mar, 2014

Jason Davis: Free press, until we disagree

By |2014-04-09T17:09:56-05:00March 6, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Jason Davis, editor of The Mountain Press in Sevierville, writes about the Greene County school board's decision to ban TV cameras from its meetings and the danger to a free press if its decision is allowed to stand. Here is an excerpt, republished with permission: Call it naiveté, but I generally believe most people seek public office because they think they can make a positive difference for their community. In many cases those elected are true statesmen — that is, they do right for the people they represent, putting the public, their constituents, before self. But there are some that, once elected, become entrenched and affected by the process. Often [...]

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