In anticipation of Matt Walsh’s appearance at the Loudoun County School Board meeting on Tuesday, the School Board updated the Citizen Participation page on their website approx. three hours ago to make changes designed to suppress public participation. The Legislative & Policy committee has recently drafted up potential changes to Policy 2520 but those haven’t even been put before the Full Board as an Information Item yet.
So the School Board is changing Policy 2520 RIGHT NOW without providing an opportunity for the public to comment on it, nor is the School Board debating it nor voting on it. They’re just changing the policy because they want to. Here is the link to the current policy: https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/loudoun/Board.nsf/files/BZTQ8B66C5EE/$file/2520.pdf
Here are the new tyrannical last minute changes:
Updates to Guidelines for Public Participation in School Board Meetings
There are some changes for public participation in the September 28, 2021, meeting of the Loudoun County School Board.
Those who sign up to offer public comment to the School Board must be one of the following:
Members of the public eligible to address the School Board include:
- Residents of Loudoun County (including incorporated towns within);
- Owners of businesses located in whole or part in Loudoun County;
- LCPS students;
- Parents and guardians of LCPS students that live outside of Loudoun County; and
- LCPS employees;
Those wishing to speak to the School Board must provide proof that they meet these criteria. The following means of identification will be accepted:
- A valid Virginia driver’s license indicating Loudoun County residency;
- A utility bill from 2021 with the resident’s name and a Loudoun County address;
- A mortgage or rental lease agreement displaying the resident’s name and current street address of residency or business;
- A current Employee ID or Student ID;
- An email or letter from Loudoun County Public Schools to the parent from the 2021-22 school year regarding a currently enrolled LCPS student.
- A student report card or progress report
“The School Board is making these changes in order to ensure that the voices of our parents and the LCPS community are heard rather than out-of-town agitators who would make Board meetings a platform for national politics or to enhance their own media profiles,” said School Board Chair Brenda L. Sheridan. “An informal survey of our neighboring jurisdictions shows that the Loudoun County School Board is one of the few governmental bodies that has minimal restrictions on speakers. Even with these changes, the School Board has some of the most open public comment practices in our region.”
The public is reminded that access to School Board meetings is available through LCPS-TV on Comcast Channel 18 and Verizon FIOS Channel 43. The livestream of the meeting may be viewed on the website.
