If a North Dakota citizen asks a school board to be personally notified of all future meetings, does the board have to send her notice of a special meeting?

Plain-English summary

Traci Braaflat texted the Lewis & Clark Public School Superintendent and Board President on October 22, 2021 asking for notice "of all future board meetings." Superintendent Ritteman replied with the regular meeting schedule (second Monday of every month at 7:00, next on November 8, 2021), noted that special meetings are posted on the district website and at both schools, and confirmed there were no special meetings then on the schedule. Board President Erickson replied that all meetings are posted as required by law.

Five days later, on October 27, 2021, the Board held a special meeting via Zoom. The Board did not send Braaflat any personal notice of the special meeting. She then complained to the AG that she had been left out of both the October 27 special meeting and the November 8 regular meeting.

AG Wrigley concluded the Board violated the open meetings law as to the October 27 special meeting. Section 44-04-20(5) requires notice "before all meetings of a public entity" to "anyone requesting such information." That includes special meetings, not just regular meetings. The Superintendent's October 22 text giving the date, time, and location of the next regular November 8 meeting was personal notice for that meeting. But once Braaflat had asked for notice of "all future board meetings," the Board owed her personal notice of the October 27 special meeting as well. It didn't send one.

The Board's response on the November 8 regular meeting was sufficient because Ritteman had already provided personal notice in the October 22 text. The violation related only to the special meeting.

The remedial step: the Board created an email list for citizens who want individual notification and committed to email everyone on the list when the Board posts meeting notices going forward. The AG accepted that remediation; no further action was required.

What this means for you

If you are a citizen who has requested notice of a board's future meetings

The opinion holds that § 44-04-20 requires notice "before all meetings of a public entity to anyone requesting such information," and treats that obligation as covering both regular and special meetings. The opinion concludes that Ms. Braaflat's October 22, 2021 request triggered a personal-notice duty for the October 27 special meeting that the Board did not satisfy.

If you are a school board secretary or other public-entity clerk

The opinion accepts the Board's remediation: creating an email list for individuals who request personal notification and emailing notice to everyone on the list when the Board posts meeting notices. Because the Board already implemented this remedy, the opinion required no further corrective action.

If you are a board member or superintendent responding to a notice request

The opinion treats personal notice as a duty independent of public posting. The opinion distinguishes the November 8 regular meeting (for which the Superintendent's October 22 text gave Ms. Braaflat the date, time, and location, satisfying personal notice) from the October 27 special meeting (for which no personal notice was sent).

Common questions

Q: Does the citizen have to renew the notice request each year?
A: The statute does not say. Best practice is to refresh annually. If the entity wants to require renewal, it should communicate that clearly when responding to the original request.

Q: What form does personal notice have to take?
A: The statute does not specify. Text, email, phone call, and mailed letter all should work. Best practice is to use whatever channel the citizen used to make the original request.

Q: How much advance notice does personal notice require?
A: At least the same as the general notice requirement. For special meetings, that means before the meeting. The opinion does not set a minimum number of hours.

Q: What's the remedy if the entity simply ignores the personal-notice obligation?
A: The citizen can request an AG opinion under § 44-04-21.1. Repeated violations can expose the entity and individual board members to civil liability under separate provisions of the open meetings law.

Background and statutory framework

Section 44-04-20 is North Dakota's meeting-notice statute. Subsections (1) through (4) address public posting, principal office posting, location posting, and website posting. Subsection (5) is the personal-notice provision, requiring notice to "anyone requesting such information." Subsection (6) covers special and emergency meetings, with additional newspaper and media notification duties.

The interplay matters. A public entity that posts but fails to personally notify a requester complies with the public-notice rules but violates § 44-04-20(5). The AG's opinion treats those as independent obligations.

Citations

• N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20(5) (personal notice to requesters)
• N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20 (public meeting notice generally)
• N.D.C.C. § 44-04-21.1 (citizen request for AG opinion)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/personal-notice-must-be-provided-for-special-meeting/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-O-10.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA
OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
www.attorneygeneral.nd.gov
(701) 328-2210

Drew H. Wrigley
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPEN RECORDS AND MEETINGS SUMMARY OPINION
2022-O-10

DATE ISSUED: September 29, 2022
ISSUED TO: Lewis & Clark Public School Board

CITIZEN'S REQUEST FOR OPINION

Traci Braaflat requested an opinion under N.D.C.C. § 44-04-21.1 from this office regarding whether the Lewis & Clark Public School Board violated N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20 by failing to provide notice of special meetings.

FACTS PRESENTED

On October 22, 2021, Traci Braaflat requested notice "of all future board meetings" from the Lewis & Clark Public School Superintendent, Marc Ritteman, and Board President, Shane Erickson, via text. Mr. Ritteman responded with the following: "School board meeting information is posted on the district website. Meetings are held on the second Monday of every month at 7:00. The next meeting is scheduled for 11/8 in Berthold. Currently, there are no special meetings scheduled. We post special meetings on the website and notify the official newspaper. We also post the notice at both schools. All in accordance with century code." Mr. Erickson replied, "All meetings are posted [a]s required by law."

The Lewis & Clark Public School Board (Board) held a special meeting on October 27, 2021, via Zoom, and a regular meeting on November 8, 2021. Traci Braaflat alleges the Board failed to provide personal notice of the October 27, 2021, and November 8, 2021, meetings.

ISSUE

Whether the Lewis & Clark Public School Board provided notice of its October 27, 2021, and November 8, 2021, meetings in compliance with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20.

ANALYSIS

Notice must be given before all meetings of a public entity to anyone requesting such information. At the time of Ms. Braaflat's request, the Board believed it had a duty to provide notice and a schedule of its regular board meetings to anyone who requested the information. Mr. Ritteman provided personal notice of the November 8, 2021, regular meeting by informing Traci Braaflat of the date, time, and location of the next regular meeting via text on October 22, 2021.

The Board agrees it did not provide proper personal notice to Traci Braaflat of its October 27, 2021, special meeting. The Board has since "created an email list for individuals who wish to be individually notified of board meetings." The Board intends to e-mail notice of meetings to everyone on the list when the Board posts meeting notices. The Board was clear in communication with this office that "Traci Braaflat and any other individual who wishes to receive individual notification will be notified via this procedure for all future meetings."

CONCLUSION

The Lewis & Clark Public School Board failed to provide notice of its October 27, 2021, special meeting in substantial compliance with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20.

STEPS NEEDED TO REMEDY VIOLATION

Because the Board already remediated this violation by creating an e-mail list for future personal notice of its meetings, no further action is required.

Drew H. Wrigley
Attorney General