A-02 Attendance At Board of Trustee And Committee Meetings

To support the integrity of the elected office of the Trustee, to encourage rich dialogue and respectful debate, and to ensure education is visible and operating within the standards established by the province, Trustees are expected to attend Board of Trustee meetings (Board Meetings), Committee meetings, or Committee of the Whole meetings in-person each year beginning November 15 to November 14 of the following year (Annual Term) unless:

• otherwise approved to participate by electronic means under Regulation 463/97 Electronic Meetings and Meeting Attendance (the Regulation), or,
• where permissible under the Education Act, are absented by Board motion.

Nothing in this policy shall apply to limit the DSBN’s duty to accommodate a Student Trustee or Indigenous Student Trustee (collectively the Student Trustees) or a Trustee in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Participation by Electronic Means Requirements

At the request of any Trustee, including a Student Trustee, the DSBN shall provide the Trustee and Student Trustee with electronic means for participating in Regular or Special Board Meetings or Regular or Special Committee meetings, including a Regular or Special Committee of the Whole meeting, but the DSBN shall refuse to provide a Trustee with electronic means of participating in those meetings and the Trustee must be physically present in the meeting room:

• unless the Trustee proposes to participate in a meeting by electronic means and:
• submits a request in writing and the reasons for the request to the Chair of the Board (or to the Vice-Chair of the Board if the Trustee requesting is the Chair of the DSBN), and
• receives written approval from the Chair of the Board (Chair), or in the case of the Chair, written approval of the Vice-Chair of the Board (Vice-Chair), before the meeting begins based on one or more of the circumstances where absences are permitted as set out below (the “Approval Process”); or
• if to do so is necessary to ensure compliance with the requirement that:
• the Chair of a Board Committee (other than the Chair of a Committee of the Whole) or their designate shall be physically present in the meeting room of every Regular Committee Meeting. The Committee Chair (or designate) may participate by electronic means, if approved as set out above in the Approval Process, and provided that at least one other Committee Member, who is also a Trustee of the DSBN, is physically present in the meeting room;or

The Chair, Vice-Chair, as applicable, may approve a request for a Trustee to participate by electronic means if they are satisfied that one or more of the identified circumstances where absences are permitted, as set out below, exist.

Student Trustees may always participate in these meetings by electronic means and do not require approval to do so.

Circumstances where Electronic Participation Permitted

Effective July 29, 2024, the circumstances are:

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

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

The electronic means for Trustees and Student Trustees to participate in a meeting shall permit all persons participating in the meeting to communicate with each other simultaneously and instantaneously.

Refusal of Participation by Electronic Means Request

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 Meeting if the request would result in fewer than one Trustee, in addition to the Chair (or their designate), being physically present in the meeting room. Similarly, the Vice-Chair shall not approve a request for the Chair to participate by electronic means in a Regular Board Meeting or Regular Committee of the Whole Meeting unless the Chair’s designate will be physically present in the meeting room.

When Seat Becomes Vacated under the Education Act

Effective September 1, 2025, if a Trustee fails to be physically present at a Regular Board Meeting or a Regular Committee of the Whole Meeting unless their request to attend electronically is approved as set out above and in accordance with the Regulation, the Trustee’s seat is vacated. (s.228(1)(e) of the EducationAct)

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

Conflict of Interest Responsibility

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.

Designated Alternate

In the event a Trustee is unable to attend a Committee Meeting, the Trustee or the Committee Chair shall make every effort to find an alternate Trustee to attend as their designated replacement and shall notify the Committee Chair of the name of the designated Trustee. If a designate has not been named, then the Committee Chair will have the right to designate another Trustee. The designated replacement will have all voting privileges.

Director of Education

The Director of Education or their designate must be physically present in the meetingroom for each Board Meeting and each Committee Meeting, including a Committee of the Whole, except when all schools of the DSBN are closed as set out below.

School Closures

If all schools of the DSBN are closed under an Order made in accordance with the Regulation, 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 Approval Process set out above. In those circumstances, the Board Meeting room or a Board Committee room will not be open to permit physical attendance by members of the public.

Under the Regulation, schools may be closed pursuant to an Order made by:

• The Minister of Education under section 5(1) of the Education Act;
• A medical officer of health or the Chief Medical Officer of Health under section 22 or 77.1 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act;
• The Lieutenant Governor in Council under paragraph 5 of subsection 7.0.2(4) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act; or
• The Lieutenant Governor in Council under clause 4(1)(a) of the Re-opening Ontario (A Flexible Response to Covid 19) Act, 2020.

Except those Committee Meetings from which the public has been excluded, the Board Meeting room or Committee Meeting room, as the case may be, shall be open to permit physical attendance by members of the public at every Regular Board Meeting or Regular Board Committee Meeting, regardless of whether one or more Trustees (including the Student Trustees) participate at such meetings electronically, unless all schools of the DSBN are closed, as described above.

Electronic Participation – Members of the Public

The DSBN shall provide members of the public with the ability to connect electronically to a Board Meeting or Board Committee Meeting. The electronic means used shall permit the public to hear the meeting and be able to communicate with each other simultaneously and instantaneously, where permitted by DSBN’s By-laws and Rules of Order (e.g., Delegations).

Closed Session Confidentiality

The DSBN 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 that:

• members of the public who participate through electronic means do not participate in any proceedings that are closed to the public under the Education Act; and,
• 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 DSBN or member of a committee, an employee or prospective employee of the DSBN or a pupil or their parent or guardian]

Trustees and Student Trustees who participate through electronic means in any proceedings that are closed to the public shall affirm that:

• They are participating in the Closed Session in a private room without anyone else present and where no one else can hear the discussion and deliberation of the Board; and
• They are not recording or capturing the Closed Session.