HCPSSImplementation of Revised Policy 2040 Public Participation in the Meetings of the Board of Education – Effective July 1, 2016
June 8th, 2016
Please be aware of revisions made to the Howard County Board of Education Policy 2040, Public Participation in Meetings, effective July 1, 2016.
Public Hearing Pre-Registration
The policy states that community members may pre-register to speak at a public hearing by contacting the Board of Education office by telephone or in person.
As of July 1, community members may now also pre-register electronically for all public hearings through the Board of Education page on the HCPSS website →
Information collected during the online pre-registration process is for Board Office use only for follow-up letters and possible meeting changes.
Public Hearing Written Testimony
Any individual testifying at a public hearing is asked to provide written testimony. Individuals may also submit written testimony via USPS mail or emailed to boe@hcpss.org. All testimony is part of the public record maintained by the Board Office.
Effective July 1, all testimony submitted for public hearings will be uploaded as submitted to BoardDocs. Written testimony will not be edited before posting online—no personal information will be removed. It is recommended that written testimony submitted at the public hearing only include the constituent’s name.
It is highly recommended that testimony sent via email be submitted as an attachment with only the constituent’s name included. Only the attachment will be posted online. If testimony is submitted in the text of an email, the entire email—including the constituent’s email address—will be posted.
Public Forum Written Testimony
Also effective July 1, all written comments submitted during Public Forum will be uploaded into BoardDocs. Again, no personal information will be removed. It is recommended that comments submitted only include the constituent’s name. Comments submitted are a part of the public record maintained by the Board Office.
Please contact the Board of Education Office at 410-313-7194 with any questions or concerns.