On August 10, 2018, Governor Rauner signed House Bill 5136 into law (Public Act 100-0768). This bill provides that meetings of joint RIF committees required under Section 24-12 of the School Code and meetings of student growth committees (also referred to as PERA committees) required under Section 24A-4 of the School Code are not subject to the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”). The bill also requires that student growth committees meet on an annual basis starting with the 2019-2020 school year “to assess and review the effectiveness of the district’s evaluation plan for the purposes of continuous improvement of instruction and evaluation practices.” Finally, the bill expands the exception under the OMA for collective bargaining negotiations to include negotiating team strategy sessions. Accordingly, negotiating team caucuses that include a quorum of school board members are not considered public meetings under the OMA.
