Public Act 100-0768 amends the School Code to clarify that Joint RIF Committees and Joint PERA Committees are not subject to the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”). A few years ago, the Illinois Attorney General issued an opinion finding that such committees constituted “public bodies,” subject to the OMA. However, effective January 1, 2019, both the Joint RIF Committee and the Joint PERA Committee are specifically exempted from the requirements of the OMA.
The Act also exempts the school board’s collective bargaining team from the OMA when it meets for strategy sessions. Prior to enactment, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act only exempted “collective bargaining negotiations,” which some interpreted to mean meetings directly involving union representatives, but not team caucus meetings during those negotiation sessions.
Pubic Act 100-0768 also clarifies that beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, the PERA Joint Committee must meet not less than one time per year “to assess and review the effectiveness of the school district’s evaluation plan for the purpose of continuous improvement of instruction and evaluation practices.”
Click here for the full text version of Public Act 100-0768.