Policy 1.1.10 ELECTRONIC MEETINGS

Board: District School Board Ontario North East.

 

Chair: the Chair of the Board, or their designate, as applicable.

 

Committee: any committee of the Board, including a Committee of the Whole.

 

Electronic Means / Electronic Participation: participation in a meeting through technological aids such as videoconferencing, teleconferencing, or other real-time communication technology that allows participants to communicate simultaneously and instantaneously.

 

Meeting: any regular or special meeting of the Board or a committee of the Board.

 

Physically Present: attendance in person at the designated meeting location identified in the approved schedule of meetings.

 

Student Trustee: a Student Trustee appointed or elected in accordance with applicable legislation and Board policy.

 

Trustee: a duly elected or appointed member of the Board, including the Chair and Vice-Chair.

District School Board Ontario North East is committed to conducting its meetings in a manner that is transparent, accessible, inclusive, and compliant with applicable legislation, including the Education Act, Ontario Regulation 463/97, and related statutes.

 

The Board permits the use of electronic means to support participation in meetings of the Board and its committees, subject to the conditions and limitations set out in this policy. Electronic participation is intended to complement, not replace, physical attendance, except where permitted or required by legislation or authorized under this by-law.

 

The Board shall ensure that:

• Electronic meetings and electronic participation are conducted in a manner that preserves quorum, voting integrity, and procedural fairness;
• Members of the public are provided with appropriate access to Board and committee meetings, except where meetings are lawfully closed;
• Secure and confidential processes are in place for meetings or portions of meetings that are closed to the public;
• Trustees, Student Trustees, and staff participating electronically are able to fully hear, be heard, and participate in deliberations and decision-making.

 

This policy supports effective governance while recognizing the operational realities of the Board’s jurisdiction and the diverse needs of its members, and shall be applied consistently and in accordance with all applicable legislative and regulatory requirements

4.1 At the request of any Trustee, including a Student Trustee of the Board, to participate in a meeting of a committee of the Board or a meeting of the Board (regular or special), including a Committee of the Whole Board (regular or special), through electronic means, the Board shall provide electronic means. The participant must provide contact information to the Director of Education / Secretary of the Board or designate. The Board shall refuse to provide a Trustee with electronic means of participating in those meetings (except Student Trustees may always participate in these meeting by electronic means and do not require approval to do so) and the Trustee must be physically present in the meeting room:

• 4.1.1 Unless the Trustee complies with s. 4.2 or 4.3 and receives written approval from the Chair of the Board, or in the case of the Chair, written approval of the Vice-Chair of the Board before the meeting begins based on the one or more of the circumstances in s. 4.5 below; or
• 4.1.2 If to do so is necessary to ensure compliance with 5.8 below; or
• 4.1.3 If to do so is necessary to ensure compliance with the following:
• • a. the Chair of the Board or designate shall be physically present in the meeting room of the board for at least half of the meetings of the board during each 12-month period beginning November 15, 2022; and
  • b. a Trustee shall be physically present in the meeting room of the board for at least 3 regular meetings of the board during each 12-month period beginning November 15, 2022 (and pro-rated for trustees elected or appointed to fill a vacancy on the board in accordance with ss. 7(9) and ss.11(2) of Ontario Regulation 463/97). [On September 1, 2025, s.1 (1.1.3) is revoked]

4.2 If a Trustee proposes to participate in a meeting described in s. 4 by electronic means, the Trustee shall submit a request in writing and the reasons for the request to the Chair of the Board before the meeting begins.

 

4.3 If the Trustee making a request under s.4 is the Chair of the Board, the Chair shall submit the request and reasons to the Vice-Chair of the Board, or if the Board has no Vice-Chair, to another Trustee of the Board.

 

4.4 The Chair, Vice-Chair, or other Trustee, as applicable, may approve a request if they are satisfied that one or more of the circumstances identified in s.4.5 exist.

 

4.5 Effective January 29, 2024, the circumstances are:

 

• 4.5.1 the distance from the Trustee’s primary place of residence within the area of jurisdiction of the Board to the meeting location is 125 kilometers or more;
• 4.5.2 weather conditions do not allow the Trustee to travel to the meeting location safely;
• 4.5.3 the Trustee cannot be physically present at a meeting due to health-related issues;
• 4.5.4 the Trustee has a disability that makes it challenging to be physically present at a meeting; or,
• 4.5.5 the Trustee cannot be physically present due to family responsibilities in respect of:
• • i. the Trustee’s spouse;
  • ii. a parent, step-parent, or foster parent of the Trustee or the Trustee’s spouse;
  • iii. a child, step-child, foster child, or child who is under legal guardianship of the Trustee or the Trustee’s spouse;
  • iv. a relative of the Trustee who is dependent on the Trustee for care or assistance; or,
  • v. a person who is dependent on the Trustee for care or assistance and who considers the Trustee to be like a family member.

 

4.6 The Chair shall not approve a request for a Trustee to participate by electronic means in a regular board meeting or regular committee of the whole board meeting if the request would result in fewer than one Trustee of the Board, in addition to the Chair of the Board or their designate, being physically present in the meeting room.

 

4.7 The Vice-Chair or other member of the board shall not approve a request for the Chair of the Board to participate by electronic means in a regular board meeting or regular committee of the whole board meeting unless the Chair’s designate will be physically present in the meeting room.

 

4.8 The Chair of a committee of the Board, other than the Chair of a committee of the whole board, or their designate shall be physically present in the meeting room of every regular meeting of a committee of the board. The committee chair or designate may participate by electronic means, if approved in accordance with s.1, and provided that at least one other member of the committee, who is also a Trustee of the board, is physically present in the meeting room.

 

4.9 A Trustee who participates in a meeting through electronic means in accordance with Ontario Regulation 463/97 is deemed to be present at the meeting.

 

4.10 The electronic means provided for in s.1 shall permit all persons participating in the meeting to communicate with each other simultaneously and instantaneously.

 

4.11 Effective September 1, 2025, if a Trustee fails to be physically present at a regular meeting of the Board or a regular meeting of the committee of the whole board unless their request to attend electronically is approved as set out above and in accordance with Ontario Regulation 463/97, the trustee’s seat is vacated. (s.228(1) (e) of the Education Act)

 

4.12 A Trustee vacates their seat if they absent themselves without being authorized by resolution of the Board entered in the minutes, from three consecutive regular meetings of the Board (s.228(1)(b) of the Education Act.

 

4.13 The Director of Education or their designate must be physically present in the meeting room for each meeting of the board and each meeting of a committee of the board, including a committee of the whole, except when all schools of the board are closed pursuant to s. 1.14 below.

 

4.14 If all schools of the Board are closed under an order made in accordance with Ontario Regulation 463/97 then the requirement for the physical attendance at any meetings by a Trustee or the Director of Education is not required in accordance with that Regulation and all Trustees and Student Trustees may participate electronically as of right and without complying with s.1 above. In those circumstances, the meeting room of the Board or a Committee of the Board will not be open to permit physical attendance by members of the public.

 

4.15 Except those committee meetings from which the public has been excluded, the meeting room of the Board or of a committee of the board, as the case may be, shall be open to permit physical attendance by members of the public at every regular meeting of the Board or of the committee of the board, regardless of whether one or more trustees (including the student trustees) participate at such meetings electronically, unless all schools of the board are closed, as described in s.1.14 above.

 

4.16 The Board shall provide members of the public with the ability to connect electronically to a meeting of the board or of a committee of the board. The electronic means used shall permit the public to hear the meeting, and where permitted by the board (example, a delegate), to participate in a meeting then all participants in the meeting shall be able to communicate with each other simultaneously and instantaneously.

 

4.17 At all meetings at which a Trustee, including a Student Trustee, participates by electronic means, it is the responsibility of those Trustees to comply with the requirements of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, including, in the case of a meeting that is closed to the public, to disconnect from the electronic participation for so long as is necessary in order to so comply.

 

4.18 The Board shall ensure that appropriate processes are put in place to ensure the security and confidentiality of electronic participation in proceedings held during meetings that are closed to the public, including ensuring Student Trustees who participate through electronic means do not participate in any proceedings that are closed to the public under clause 207(2)(b) of the Education Act (subject matter under consideration involves the disclosure of intimate, personal or financial information in respect of a trustee of the board or member of a committee, an employee or prospective employee of the board or a pupil or their parent or guardian).

 

4.19 Trustees participating in an electronic meeting shall notify the Chair of the Board of their departure (either temporary or permanent) from the meeting before absenting themselves to ensure a quorum is maintained.

 

4.20 Trustees must request participation by electronic means at least 24 hours in advance through the office of the Director of Education / Secretary of the Board.

 

4.21 A schedule of meetings of the Board will be created and approved annually identifying the location of the meetings and whether it can be accessed electronically

N/A