Resources for School Board Engagement

10 Tips for Planning Your School Board Engagement

  1. Planning to effectively speaking at a Board meeting typically begins 2-3 weeks prior.

  2. Begin by reviewing your school board’s policy on public participation. It will tell you how to submit a request, what needs to be included and how long you can speak. Most public comments are 2-3 minutes maximum per person.

  3. Most school boards publish their policies on their website – check it and search for Speak at the meeting or Public Comments section for the steps to get on the agenda.

  4.  On the Board’s website, the dates for their public meetings will be listed for the year by the end of January.

  5.   Most requests to address the board must be submitted in writing – keep your purpose for speaking as general as possible. You may be required to add your address and name as well.

    • We suggest you share: Hello Board, I’d like to address the board at the meeting on  [Insert date]  to discuss the need for equity in our schools.

  6.  Some boards will encourage you to speak to staff prior to addressing the board – you can do this in addition to speaking. We suggest you accept the offer but reaffirm your request to address the board in public session on the date previously requested

  7.  Bring multiple people with you (at least 6-10 people) – it might be more powerful for those joining you to stand while you speak.

  8. Know if your district has an Equity Policy. Again, policies are mostly published on their website. Most districts use a system called, BoardDocs. You can search in the box in the upper right corner. Type in Equity or Racial Equity to see when it has been discussed previously and any related policies that mention those words.

  9. Review the previous meeting minutes where equity or racial disparities have been discussed. The same search box used in #6 will word search previous meeting minutes for those discussions.

  10.  If you have extra time and interested, most large districts will publish their meeting video to YouTube, on their website or both. Watch the most recent meeting where equity was discussed to get a fuller context.