Public Comments
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Your Turn to Speak...
Speaking/Attending Keller ISD Board Meetings
The Board of Trustees holds Regular Meetings, open to the public, as indicated on the Board calendar. Unless indicated otherwise on the meeting agenda, meetings are held at the District's administrative offices (the KISD Education Center), located at 350 Keller Parkway, Keller, TX 76248. All board meetings are live-streamed and recorded.Public participation is scheduled as part of each meeting. At Special Meetings, public comments are limited to those items identified on the Board's agenda for the meeting.
The processes and rules around public participation at Board Meetings can be found in Policy BED (Legal) and (Local).
Please read the highlights of speaking at Board Meetings below, including information on the new process for signing up to speak (as of January 2023):
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Sign-Up Process
To be eligible to speak, speakers must sign up using the online form. Individuals may not sign up in person at the time of the meeting.
Sign-up starts when the agenda for a meeting is posted. To provide staff with sufficient time to run and organize a report of speakers for the presiding officer, the deadline to submit your request to speak is noon on the day of the meeting. Speakers will provide their name, contact information (including physical address), and the topic of their comments. Speakers must attend the meeting in person.
Click here to sign up to speak during the public comment portion of the agenda.
If someone lacks the technology necessary to complete the online submission form, they can call the Keller ISD administrative offices at 817-744-1000.
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Speaking Time
During the public participation portion of the meeting, individuals may speak for up to three minutes unless the Board President shortens that time for effective meeting management. In no event will an individual have less than one minute to speak. A timer is provided and visible to each speaker. A timekeeper will notify the speaker when their time is up. Speakers must stop speaking and leave the microphone after their time is up.
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Speaking Order
At Regular Board meetings, speakers commenting on items on the meeting's agenda may be heard before speakers commenting on other topics.
If the public comment portion of the agenda exceeds 30 minutes, the Board President reserves the right to conduct other board business before hearing comments on matters not part of the Board agenda for that evening.
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Public Hearings
Public hearings will be held as required by law. Members of the public will be allowed to speak for a predetermined amount of time at public hearings, usually three minutes per speaker.
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Speaking Protocols
Speakers are welcome to offer comments or criticism directed at substantive ideas, actions, or procedures of the Board. In the interest of maintaining civility and decorum, however, speakers are encouraged to refrain from personal attacks and insults directed at the Board, individual Board members, staff, or members of the public.
The laws and policies of Texas provide that issues or concerns involving individual personnel matters are generally confidential, and, therefore, not appropriate for public comment settings. Concerns related to personnel issues may be addressed through the appropriate grievance process.
Speakers, including students, may discuss issues and matters of general concern, but should refrain from discussing confidential student information. Concerns related to confidential student matters may be addressed through applicable grievance processes.
If speakers wish to share written material with the Board, it should be of a non-confidential nature and eight (8) copies of the material should be provided to the Board Secretary before the meeting begins.
The Board does not respond directly to comments nor answer questions asked by speakers. Texas law does not allow the Board to discuss or take action on any issue presented during the Open Forum, unless the item has already been posted for action on the meeting agenda.
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Special Accommodations
Anyone who requires disability or language accommodations is encouraged to contact Catherine Whited at Catherine.Whited@KellerISD.net prior to the day of the meeting.
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Meeting Protocols and Standards
Keller ISD Board of Trustees meetings are conducted for the purpose of carrying on the official business of the school district. The public is cordially invited to attend Board Meetings to observe the Board as it conducts its official business.
It is a criminal offense for a person, with intent to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting, to substantially obstruct or interfere with the ordinary conduct of a meeting by physical action or verbal utterance and thereby curtail the exercise of others' First Amendment rights. Penal Code 42.05; Morehead v. State, 807 S.W. 2d 577 (Tex. Cr. App. 1991)
If any visitor disrupts a meeting by failing to follow the Board protocols, a verbal warning will be issued. If the behavior continues, the individual will be asked to leave the building and leave Keller ISD property.
