Trustee Leadership Institute Friday, November 18 2016 A Primer on Legal Obligations and Best Practices: What Every Trustee Should Know Trustee Leadership Institute Friday, November 18 2016

Agenda Community College Act Open Meetings Act Freedom of Information Act Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Financial Data

Community College Act of 1966 The Act…. Provides for the creation and subsequent governance of community colleges. Provides for the election of a board of trustees and defines the powers of the board. Provides for the general administration of a community college. Allows for property tax assessment, levy and collection. Authorizes the operation of a new job training program. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%28dm1kjczwwrg5ojrp0zoa5hbv%29%29/d ocuments/mcl/pdf/mcl-Act-331-of-1966.pdf

Community College Act of 1966 What every trustee should know….. The Act provides for 7 member boards with six year terms (with few exceptions). An organizational meeting must be held at the first meeting in January following an election – officers are elected for two year terms. All board business must be conducted in compliance with the Open Meetings Act.

Community College Act of 1966 What every trustee should know….. No board members other than the secretary and the treasurer may receive any compensation. Expenses of board members may be reimbursed if authorized by the board. An act of the board is not valid unless voted at a meeting of the board by a majority vote of the members elect of the board (not a quorum of those present at a meeting).

Community College Act of 1966 What every trustee should know….. A board of trustees may contract with a ‘suitable person’ as chief executive officer of the community college. That person may not be a member of the board of trustees, must hold at least a bachelors degree, and shall hold office for a term fixed by the board but no longer than 5 years. The board may delegate to the CEO their authority to … Select and employ personnel Pay claims Purchase, lease or otherwise acquire personal property Invest funds (subject to stated restrictions) Accept contributions, gifts, grants Appoint a business manager and fix his or her term of office

Community College Act of 1966 What every trustee should know….. Chapter 12 of the Act outlines board eligibility, election process, oath of office and acceptance, and the process for filling board vacancies. The Act also: defines New Jobs Training Grants powers and authority for public safety or police officers Defines allowable investments Requires an annual external audit Permits borrowing (within defined limits) other….

Open Meetings Act Act 267 of 1976 The Act…. Requires certain meetings of certain public bodies to be open to the public. Requires those meetings to be noticed, and that meeting minutes be maintained. Provides for enforcement and penalties for non-compliance. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%28gk4rjrochpdmjtksefaez22w %29%29/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-Act-267-of-1976.pdf

Open Meetings Act What every trustee should know….. All meetings of the board must be open to the public (unless specifically authorized to be closed based on provisions in this Act) and held in a place available to the general public. All persons must be permitted to attend. Includes the right for an individual to record, video tape and even broadcast live. A person can’t be excluded from a public meeting except for a breach of the peace actually committed at that meeting. A board can not require a person to sign in or otherwise register as a condition of attending . All deliberations and decisions of the board must be made at a meeting open to the public.

Open Meetings Act What every trustee should know….. A meeting shall not be held unless properly noticed as required by this Act. Within 10 days after the first meeting in each calendar or fiscal year, a schedule of all regular meetings, including date, time and location must be posted. If there is a change in the timing of a regularly scheduled meeting, it must be posted within 3 days after the date of the meeting at which a change is made. Notice of any special meeting must be posted at least 18 hours before the meeting.

Open Meetings Act What every trustee should know….. The Act requires that a posted notice of a meeting always contain the name of the public body, a telephone number and an address. A notice must be posted at its principal office (may also be posted at any other location considered appropriate by the public body). A notice of a special meeting must be posted prominently at the public body’s principal location and on the website in a place fully accessible to the public (either on the homepage or a separate webpage dedicated to public notices). Upon written request, a public body must provide posted notices to media outlets (free of charge), and to any other individual, organization, etc. for a nominal fee to cover cost of mailing.

Open Meetings Act What every trustee should know….. A public body may meet in closed session under certain circumstances. Most cases require a 2/3 role call vote of the full board. Separate minutes must be taken, retained by a designated individual, not available to the public, and may be destroyed one year and one day after the date of the regular meeting where the minutes of the closed session were approved.

Open Meetings Act What every trustee should know….. Permissible purposes for calling a closed session: To consider discipline up to and including dismissal of an employee if the employee requests a closed hearing. For strategy in negotiation sessions associated with the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement. To consider the purchase or lease of real property (not the sale of property). To consult with an attorney regarding specific pending litigation. To consider material exempt from discussion or disclosure by state or federal statute. In the process of searching for and selecting a president if: The search committee meets outlined requirements. There are at least 30 days between the date that the search committee publically identifies final candidates and the date the board of trustees votes publically. The final deliberation and vote of the board takes place in an open session.

Open Meetings Act What every trustee should know….. Minutes are required to be taken at each meeting . Date, time, place, members present, members absent, any decisions made at an open meeting, and the purpose of any closed session must be included. Proposed minutes must be available for public inspection within 8 business days after the meeting to which the minutes refer. Approved minutes must be made available within 5 business days after the meeting at which they were approved.

Open Meetings Act What every trustee should know….. A public official who intentionally violates this Act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more then $1,000 as well as personally liable in a civil action for actual and exemplary damages of not more than $500 plus court costs and actual attorney fees incurred by the person or group of persons bringing the action A governing board of an institution of higher education that violates this Act with respect to the process of selecting a president may be responsible for the payment of a civil fine of not more than $500,000.

Freedom of Information Act Act 442 of 1976 The Act….. Provides for public access to certain public records of public bodies, permits certain fees, prescribes powers and duties of certain public officers, and provides remedies and penalties for non-compliance. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-Act-442- of-1976.pdf

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) What every trustee should know… A public body must identify a FOIA coordinator. A public body must establish procedures and guidelines to implement this Act, and shall create a written summary of the process and make it available to the general public.

Freedom of Information Act What every trustee should know… Except for records specifically exempted, a member of the public that provides the FOIA coordinator with a written request that describes a public record sufficiently to allow the public body to find the record is entitled to inspect, copy, or receive copies of such record. The Act does not require the public body to create a document, or to create a summary, compilation or report of any requested information. The public body may charge a fee (there are specific guidelines in the Act that describe how a fee may be calculated).

Freedom of Information Act What every trustee should know… Once a FOIA request is received, a public body has 5 business days to do one of the following: Grant the request Issue a written notice denying the request Grant in part and deny in part Issue a written notice extending for not more than 10 business days

Freedom of Information Act What every trustee should know… There are exemptions from disclosure, including: Information of a personal nature that , if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of an individual’s privacy. Investigating records complied for law enforcement purposes (under certain circumstances only). Information subject to attorney-client privilege. Bid information until the time for public bid opening. Academic transcripts if the transcript pertains to a student who is delinquent in the payment of financial obligations to the institution. Communications that are preliminary to a final determination of policy or action (something in draft form). Others as outlined in section 13 of the Act.

Freedom of Information Act What every trustee should know… There are exemptions from disclosure Applications for the position of president of an institution of higher education until such time as finalists have been identified. Information, that, if released, would prevent the public body from complying with the family educational rights and privacy act of 1974 (FERPA). Others as outlined in section 13 of the Act.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) The Act…. Gives students the rights to control the disclosures of their educational records, to inspect and review their educational records, and to seek amendments of the educational records. An educational record means those records that are directly related to a student and are maintained by an educational entity or by a party acting for the educational entity.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act What every trustee should know…. An institution may not disclose educational records or information from educational records to anyone other than the student without obtaining written consent. Without consent, an institution can only disclose if all personally identifiable information is redacted or one of the 16 exceptions included in the Act applies.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act What every trustee should know…. A few of those 16 exceptions include: The disclosure is directory information only. The disclosure is to a school official with a legitimate educational interest (the official needs to review an educational record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the school). The institution must use reasonable methods to ensure that school officials have access only to the records for which they have a legitimate educational interest. The disclosure is to another institution where the student seeks to enroll or transfer (the transfer exception).

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act What every trustee should know…. The disclosure is to a parent of a student who is considered their dependent for federal tax purposes. The disclosure is related to a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena. It is important to note that it is entirely within the institution’s discretion as to whether to make a disclosure under any of the exceptions. For example, a parent does not have a right to see their student’s academic records even if the student is a dependent for tax purposes. The institution must make that determination.

Other legal issues Title IV Clery Act State Aid Act

All Things Budget….. Monitoring current financial status What to look for when reviewing a budget proposal Monitoring monthly activity Cash and Investments Annual audit process/How to read audited financial statements Transparency website

All Things Budget….. Future focus Setting a vision Long term projections Allowing for flexibility Ability to innovate

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