Those Dang Open Meetings
Justin Bathon at the Edjurist blog posted a good piece this morning that provides resources for laws relating to open meetings. Anyone in the public sector is encouraged to bookmark these resources and utilize them often. The Washington Supreme Court recently issued an opinion, Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound v. City of Des Moines that clarifies the exemptions available under Washington's Public Records Act. A summary of that case is posted here.
School boards really struggle with the Open Meeting Laws (sometimes called Sunshine Laws). Here is a compendium of every state's Open Meetings laws. Like any secondary source, this compendium is not a substitute for primary sources. I have noticed errors in the compendium.
Also, most states have a handbook on Open Meetings/Records laws for new board members and most are online. NSBA has some of them here. Follow these links to guides for Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. I was not able to find a guide for Alaska, but the statues are here.
