Must Proposed Agenda Items be Placed on the Agenda

[Guest Kathy218]

I'm a faculty member and parliamentarian at a law school.  Our governance document states the following about agenda items for faculty meetings:

"Except in extraordinary circumstances, faculty shall submit agenda items at least three working days prior to a scheduled Faculty meeting. The agenda, and any minutes to be approved, shall be distributed to the Faculty at least two working days prior to the meeting date. Items may not be added to the agenda during a Faculty meeting except by a two-thirds vote of the faculty."

 

A faculty member submitted an agenda item more than three working days before a faculty meeting on Friday.  The item was not added to the agenda.  The agenda is prepared by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.  

There is no language stating that proposed agenda items must be added to the agenda.  In the past, some proposed agenda items were not added to the agenda for the intended meeting, usually because the agenda was already too long.

As the parliamentarian, I want to be clear about the rules for adding agenda items.  In light of the language above, does the failure to add the agenda item violate RRO? 

Many thanks for any assistance.

[Joshua Katz]

The question isn't whether it violates RONR, since none of this procedure comes from RONR. It's whether it violates your rules. Your organization seems, at least thus far, to have interpreted it as not doing so. I tend to agree, although my opinion isn't material. I don't think such a rule is wise, unless forced on you by governing law, because it gives too much power to the person who prepareds the agenda. (Do your rules say that the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs does so?) But here we are. The member will need to try to add it by a 2/3 vote of the faculty, after your organization decides what that means. (2/3 of those present and voting, or of the entire membership?)

[Josh Martin]

On 2/14/2024 at 11:00 AM, Guest Kathy218 said:

As the parliamentarian, I want to be clear about the rules for adding agenda items.  In light of the language above, does the failure to add the agenda item violate RRO? 

Well, it certainly doesn’t violate RRO. The question is whether it violates your rules. I am inclined to think it does not, but that’s ultimately for your organization to decide.

More importantly, however, I think the rule could use some clarity. In addition to clarifying this issue, it would be desirable to clarify who decides whether a pre-submitted item is (or is not) included on the agenda.

Further, while I would guess the intent is that items not listed on the agenda cannot be considered, I would note that this is not explicitly stated.

Edited February 14, 2024 at 05:55 PM by Josh Martin