Frederick County lawmaker aims to expand open meetings rules for school systems

Feb. 20—A state delegate from Frederick County has filed a bill that would expand how the Maryland Open Meetings Act applies to public school systems.

Del. April Miller's proposal, HB 1203, would require public school system committees that "will review or discuss curriculum content; textbooks or other course materials; library books; or supplemental materials" to follow the act.

Committees or bodies subject to the Open Meetings Act must notify the community in advance of their meetings, hold them in public and allow people to inspect the minutes. There are limited exceptions in the act for when a public body may meet privately.

In an interview Monday, Miller, a Republican, said she filed the bill in response to Frederick County Public Schools' plan to conduct the meetings of a 59-person book review committee in private.

Parents, students, teachers and community experts are on the committee, which has been asked to make recommendations on whether 35 challenged books should be allowed to remain on school library shelves.

"I think the right thing to do is have the whole process open to the public," Miller said.

She said the district should not necessarily have to allow for public comment at the meetings, but the public should be able to observe.

Miller served on the school board from 2010 until 2018.

Del. Jesse Pippy, another Frederick County Republican, is among the bill's co-sponsors.

The bill has been referred to the Ways and Means Committee, which Miller serves on. It is scheduled for a hearing March 8 — about a week after the book review review group in Frederick County will begin meeting.

Del. Kris Fair, D-Frederick County, who also serves on the Ways and Means Committee, said Monday that Miller's bill would have "unintended consequences" and was "far, far too broad."

Volunteer committee members would be "subject to a very intense level of scrutiny for every single thought that they share" if meetings were open for public observation, he said.

The bill would also open the door for disruption, he said, pointing to a local Family Life Advisory Committee meeting last year that descended into chaos during a discussion of health curriculum updates.

"It would have a chilling effect on people trying to bring earnest discussion and debate to the table," Fair said, "and meetings can be ground, quickly, to a halt."

Fair also emphasized that the review committee will make recommendations, not final decisions.

FCPS Superintendent Cheryl Dyson will consider the committee's final written report, which will eventually be made public, and render a decision on the books.

"The general public does have access to their superintendent," Fair said.

The Frederick News-Post filed a complaint with a state review board in December, alleging that the book review committee met the Open Meetings Act's definition of a "public body."

FCPS, meanwhile, argued that the committee was not subject to the act. The review board sided with the school district.

More than 1,000 people applied for a spot on the committee, which is scheduled to begin meeting on March 2.

Former school board candidate Cindy Rose spurred the review process when she submitted a formal complaint alleging the 35 books contained inappropriate material.

Follow Jillian Atelsek on Twitter: @jillian_atelsek