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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
school districts; board meetings; expenditures
Purpose
Requires a school district governing board (governing board) to hold governing board meetings at a public facility in the school district and provide public access to meeting materials and recordings as outlined. Authorizes a governing board member to remove an item from a consent agenda at any time before the governing board votes on the consent agenda. Prescribes requirements on a governing board regarding the approval of out-of-state travel for school employees and governing board members.
Background
Open meeting laws require all meetings of any public body to be public and allow all persons to attend and listen to the deliberations and proceedings. Each school district must conspicuously post a statement on the school district's website stating where all public notices of the meetings will be posted, including the physical and electronic locations, and post all public meeting notices on the school district's website. All public bodies must take written minutes or record each meeting, which must be made available for public inspection within three working days of the meeting (A.R.S. §§ 38-431.01 and 38-431.02).
A governing board must meet at the most convenient public facility in the school district. If a public facility is not available within the school district, the governing board may meet at any available public facility that is convenient to all governing board members, regardless of the county or school district in which the facility is located (A.R.S. § 15-321).
A governing board, as determined by a majority vote of the governing
board, may allow a superintendent, principal or representatives of the
superintendent or principal to travel for a school purpose. A governing board
may allow governing board members or members-elect to travel within or outside
the school district for a school purpose and receive reimbursement. A governing
board must prescribe procedures and amounts for reimbursement of lodging and
subsistence expense, not exceeding the maximum reimbursement amounts prescribed
by statute (A.R.S.
§ 15-342).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
Open Meeting Law Requirements
1. Requires a governing board to hold all meetings of the governing board and of the governing board's subcommittees at a public facility in the school district, subject to open meeting law requirements.
2. Requires a governing board to provide the public with:
a) access to all governing board and subcommittee meeting materials; and
b) if the school district has a student count of more than 5,000 students, a live video feed of each governing board meeting and online access to video recordings of each governing board meeting.
3. Requires a governing board to provide the public with access to governing board and subcommittee meeting materials, minutes and video recordings for at least five years after the date of the meeting.
4. Specifies that materials presented at a governing board meeting must be provided online and in the same manner as the governing board provides online access to meeting notices.
5. Directs a governing board to provide subcommittee meeting materials, materials that are presented at a subcommittee meeting and supplemental materials provided to governing board members in preparation for a governing board meeting upon request or online.
6. Specifies that a governing board that provides subcommittee meeting materials, materials that are presented at a subcommittee meeting and supplemental materials provided to governing board members in preparation for a governing board meeting upon request must provide the materials within five business days after receiving the request.
7. Authorizes, if a governing board uses a consent agenda for a meeting, any governing board member to remove one or more items from the consent agenda at any time before the governing board votes on the consent agenda.
8. Specifies that a governing board must separately discuss and vote on each item that is removed from a consent agenda.
9. Removes the authorization for a governing board to meet at any available public facility, regardless of the county or school district in which the facility is located, if a public facility is not available within the school district.
Out-of-State Travel Authorization
10. Requires a governing board to approve in a public meeting and by a majority roll call vote, any out-of-state travel on a per-trip basis for:
a) a school district superintendent;
b) a principal;
c) representatives of the superintendent or principal; and
d) members or members-elect of the governing board.
11. Directs a governing board to approve out-of-state travel before the proposed travel whenever possible.
12. Stipulates that, if prior approval for out-of-state travel is impossible, the travel must be submitted to the governing board for approval within 30 days after the travel occurs.
13. Requires, before voting on whether to approve proposed out-of-state travel, a governing board to:
a) identify each individual who may travel out of state, including the individual's job title;
b) identify the name and address of the lodging facility at which each individual will stay during the proposed travel;
c) estimate the total cost of the proposed travel and the cost per individual; and
d) publicly note and describe the school purposes of the proposed travel and the benefit of the proposed travel to the school district.
14. Stipulates that an individual who is not identified in the original proposal may travel out of state in place of an individual who was identified in the original proposal if:
a) the school district superintendent notifies the governing board in writing and at the next regular governing board meeting that an individual who was not identified in the original proposal traveled in place of an individual identified in the original proposal; and
b) the travel expenses incurred by the individual who was not identified in the original proposal do not exceed the estimated costs for the individual who was identified in the original proposal.
15. Specifies that a school district superintendent's notification regarding out-of-state travel by an individual not identified in the original proposal must include all information required by the original proposal.
16. Requires, if out-of-state travel has already occurred and is submitted to the governing board for approval, the governing board to identify before voting on whether to approve the travel:
a) each individual who traveled out of state, including the individual's job title;
b) the name and address of the lodging facility at which each individual stayed during the travel;
c) the total cost of the travel and the cost per individual; and
d) the school purposes of the travel and the benefit of the travel to the school district.
17. Stipulates that, if a governing board does not approve out-of-state travel that has already occurred, the governing board may require each individual who traveled out of state without approval to reimburse the school district for any expenses that were paid by the school district for the travel.
Miscellaneous
18. Makes technical and conforming changes.
19. Becomes effective on the general effective date
House Action
ED 2/3/26 DP 8-4-0-0
3rd Read 3/11/26 31-21-7-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 23, 2026
MH/hk