From the Hotline

By Teri Henning
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

Q: Our School Board takes action on matters without explaining exactly what they’re voting on.  In some cases, they refer to a “board packet” and vote on items “3 and 4” without telling the public what those matters are.  In other cases, the Board votes on raises for employees without specifying the amounts.  Are these violations of the Sunshine Act?

A: Yes.  A board that conducts its discussions by making vague references to written materials and failing to provide the public with any concrete information about what actions it is taking, is violating both the spirit and the letter of the Sunshine Act. 

The Sunshine Act requires an agency to deliberate agency business in public (with limited exceptions) and requires an agency to take all official action in public.   The Act also requires an agency to provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to comment on matters before taking official action.

When an agency uses this type of shorthand or secrecy to discuss and vote on agency business and does not provide even basic information to the public, it is not satisfying its obligations under the Act.  It is not deliberating agency business in the “open”; it is not taking official action in the “open”; it is not providing the public with a reasonable opportunity to comment on matters that are or may be before the Board.

Although there are times when a Board may not be required to disclose the reasons for taking certain official action (there is one case where the Court held that a school board did not have to publicly disclose the reasons for taking disciplinary action against a teacher), an agency must at least disclose the action it is taking when it votes.  The agency must provide a sufficient amount of information so that the public can determine what action it is taking or what decision it is making.

The primary purpose of the Sunshine Act is to permit the public to witness agency discussions and decision making, and to permit the public to participate in that process.  An agency cannot sit at a table and take action without providing the public with the necessary information to both understand what the agency is doing, and make meaningful comments about it.  

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