The School Board voted to approve revisions to Policy 134, Citizen Participation, during its meeting on September 15, 2021. The policy revisions expand the time devoted to citizen comment at regular school board meetings from 30 minutes to 60 minutes, allowing the School Board to hear from more citizens. Additionally, by majority vote, the School Board may, from time to time, also agree to conduct town hall meetings or provide forums other than regular School Board meetings to receive public input on such topics. The School Board has also provided more ways for citizens outside of meetings to send communications by adding video submission options.
The expanded citizen comment time and the variety of communication methods available will allow even more of our citizenry to be heard while still allowing the School Board to conduct its business in a timely and efficient manner.
All attendees at School Board meetings will be required to follow all safety and security protocols. The protocols include the prohibition of signs, posters, placards, banners or like objects in the School Board's meeting room during any School Board meeting, hearing or town hall, except when part of a PWCS-approved student presentation and only where such signs, posters, placards, banners or like objects do not obstruct the view of others or pose a threat to the orderly conduct of the meeting and the safety of others.
A portion of all regular School Board meetings is set aside under the citizen comment period to receive input from Prince William County residents, and from PWCS employees, parents/guardians, students, and business partners on issues directly relating to the Prince William County Public Schools, especially items of business on the agendas of such meetings in order to assist the Board in making informed decisions when voting on such items.
The citizen comment period for regular School Board meetings is one hour, with the first half hour reserved for comments on agenda items only, and the second half hour for comments on agenda items or other topics germane to the operations and policies of PWCS. Speakers are also limited to three minutes each, with an additional time allowance provided for speakers requiring translation assistance, as determined at the discretion of the Chairman At-Large.
Once
the
agenda
has
been
made
public
by
the
Clerk,
Prince
William
County
citizens,
and
PWCS
employees,
parents/guardians,
students,
and
business
partners
who
wish
to
address
the
Prince
William
County
School
Board
may
request
that
they
be
placed
on
the
list
of
speakers
for
the
citizen
comment
period
by
completing
the
Citizen
Comment
Period
Request
form
located
on
the
School
Board
website
or
by
telephone
call
to
the
Clerk
of
the
School
Board,
prior
to
noon
on
the
day
of
the
Board
meeting.
Speakers
will
be
signed
up
on
a
first-come,
first-served
basis.
The
sign-up
list
will
close
once
the
number
of
total
speakers
who
have
signed
up
reaches
twenty
and
there
will
be
no
sign-up
thereafter,
nor
at
the
meeting.
No
one
shall
be
allowed
to
sign
or
register
another
person's
name
on
the
list
nor
speak
on
behalf
of
another
individual
who
has
registered
or
signed
onto
the
list
of
speakers.
No
one
who
has
signed
up
to
speak
may
yield
his
or
her
time
to
another
speaker.
All
speakers
must
provide
their
address
and
phone
number
or
email
address
in
order
to
verify
their
residency
in
Prince
William
County
and
permit
the
Clerk
to
contact
residents
if
necessary.
Residents
of
the
county
with
no
fixed
address
may
also
add
their
name
to
the
list
of
speakers
and
shall
provide
the
Clerk
with
a
means
to
contact
them.
Speakers
shall
be
placed
on
a
list
in
the
order
in
which
they
notify
the
Clerk.
Ten
speakers
will
be
allowed
to
sign
up
to
speak
to
agenda
items
only
during
the
first
half
hour
of
the
citizen
comment
period,
and
up
to
ten
additional
speakers
may
sign
up
to
speak
to
agenda
or
non-agenda
matters
during
the
second
half
hour
of
citizen
comment
period.
Additional
information
on
Citizen
Comment
is
available
on
the
School
Board
website.