Orange County Public Schools

• The Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center (RBELC) will not open to the public until thirty (30) minutes prior to the starting time of the meeting.
• The public shall enter the RBELC from the Amelia Street entrance only and will be required to pass through the metal detectors. OCPS staff will be present to direct the public.
• Members of the public who wish to speak during the Open Public Comment Period (for items not on an agenda) or Agenda Public Comment Period (for items on an agenda during a Regular School Board Meeting, Public Hearing, or Rule Development Workshop) shall follow the procedures set forth under the “Who Can Speak” tab below. See Board Policy BEDH - Pilot Program for Public Comment.
• Members of School Board Services will be in the lobby to distribute blue Speaker Requests (for the Open Public Comment Period) and yellow Speaker Requests (for the Agenda Public Comment Period). Speaker Requests must be filled out legibly and completely.
• Speakers must sign up to speak between 3:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. for the Open Public Comment Period and between 4:15 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. for the Agenda Public Comment Period. Speakers who sign up by 3:45 p.m. for the Open Public Comment Period and 4:45 p.m. for the Agenda Public Comment Period, respectively, will be prioritized by the category into which they fall:
  • Category 1: Parent/legal guardian/student/employee
  • Category 2: Orange County, Florida resident
  • Category 3: Non-resident of Orange County, Florida* (if speakers have not specified into which category they fall, the default category will be to non-resident of Orange County, Florida)
• Speakers who sign up after 3:45 p.m. for the Open Public Comment Period and 4:45 p.m. for the Agenda Public Comment Period will not be prioritized into categories and will be added in the order received.
• There will be no congregating in the lobby. The public can either enter the Board chambers or a designated overflow room, when needed.
• Members of the public will not be permitted to stand in the back of the Board chambers or congregate in the Board chambers.
• A section in the back of the Board chambers will be reserved for the media.
• Members of the public shall not be permitted to use visual, audio, and/or demonstrative aids in the Board chambers, including, but not limited to, PowerPoints, video clips, audio files, signs, posters, banners, flags, or noise makers, unless otherwise permitted by the Board.

The School Board of Orange County, Florida holds different types of meetings.

• Regular School Board Meetings are held to conduct the official business of The School Board of Orange County, Florida. At Regular School Board Meetings, members of the public are invited to provide public comment on any proposition (an action item on the agenda) before the School Board. Agendas are published on the district’s website seven (7) days before the Regular School Board Meeting.

• The School Board also holds Public Hearings and Rule Development Workshops to discuss specific issues. Public Hearings and Rule Development Workshops give community members the opportunity to participate in the discussion of issues and to provide public comment before formal action is taken at a Regular School Board Meeting. Agendas are published on the district’s website seven (7) days before the Public Hearing or Rule Development Workshop.

• The School Board conducts Work Sessions to study and discuss specific issues. Work Sessions are designed to provide the opportunity for the School Board and staff to discuss particular items and they are open to the public; however, the public may not participate in discussions or provide public comment since no formal action is taken at a Work Session. Many Work Session topics result in an item being brought forward at a Regular School Board Meeting, Public Hearing, and/or Rule Development Workshop at which the public has the opportunity to provide public comment. Agendas are published on the district’s website seven (7) days before the Work Session.
  
  
• Special Meetings, though infrequent, are held as needed and are afforded the most appropriate, effective, and reasonable notice under the circumstances. The public is afforded the opportunity to provide public comment on items that are on the agenda for the Special Meeting. Agendas are published on the district’s website as soon as possible before the Special Meeting.
  
  
• The School Board is required by Section 1001.371, Florida Statutes, to hold an Annual Reorganization Meeting. Because this is a ministerial meeting, there will be no opportunity for the public to provide input. Agendas are published on the district’s website seven (7) days before the Annual Reorganization Meeting.
  
  
• See Board Policy BEDH - Pilot Program for Public Comment

Regular School Board Meetings are typically held twice a month on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Click on the “Schedule” link on the left to see the current regular School Board Meeting Schedule.

Public Hearings, Rule Development Workshops, and Work Sessions are scheduled as needed.

The School Board’s Annual Reorganization Meeting is scheduled during the second or third week in November of every year.

Special Meetings are scheduled as needed.

Notice of all meetings is posted at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center, on the district’s website under “Notices” on the “Board Meetings” page, and on BoardDocs.

Unless otherwise indicated in the meeting notice, all meetings are held in the School Board Chambers of the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center, 445 West Amelia Street, in downtown Orlando.

In accordance with Florida's Sunshine Law, all meetings are open to the public, except those dealing with bargaining (involving the unions), executive sessions (involving pending litigation), and/or closed sessions (involving safety/cybersecurity plans).

In-Person Speakers: 

Open Public Comment Period: Though not required by law, the Open Public Comment Period offers the public an opportunity to provide comment to the School Board on items not on an agenda. This time is reserved to hear about items that are relevant to the work of the School Board and occurs prior to a regular School Board meeting.

Agenda Public Comment Period: Section 286.0114(2), Florida Statutes, provides that "[m]embers of the public shall be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a proposition before a board or commission." This opportunity occurs during a regular School Board Meeting, Public Hearing, Rule Development Workshop, or Special Meeting. The Chair will invite those who have filled out a Speaker Request to speak to an item on the agenda during the course of the meeting.
 

 Telephonic Speakers: 

There will be no option for speakers to call in using the telephonic option during the Open Public Comment Period or Agenda Public Comment Period.

Via Email:

Members of the public who wish to provide public comment via email for the School Board's consideration at the Regular School Board Meeting, Public Hearing, or Rule Development Workshop may send an email to [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the scheduled meeting.

The public is asked to provide their name, address, agenda item, and written public comment so that OCPS staff can properly sort each public comment as it applies to each agenda item for discussion at the applicable meeting.  The emails that are received by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the scheduled meeting will be compiled by OCPS staff and provided to each School Board member electronically and/or in hard copy for consideration by 10:00 a.m. the day of the meeting.

 Special Meetings and Annual Reorganization Meeting:

• Special Meetings, though infrequent, are held as needed and are afforded the most appropriate, effective, and reasonable notice under the circumstances. The public is afforded the opportunity to provide public comment on items that are on the agenda for the Special Meeting.
•  The School Board is required by Section 1001.371, Florida Statutes, to hold an Annual Reorganization Meeting. Because this is a ministerial meeting, there will be no opportunity for the public to provide input. Section 286.0114(3), Florida Statutes, provides that the public’s “opportunity to be heard” does not apply to “[a]n official act involving no more than a ministerial act, including but not limited to, approval of minutes and ceremonial proclamations.” 

• Ministerial Acts. Section 286.0114(3), Florida Statutes, provides that the public’s “opportunity to be heard” does not apply to “[a]n official act involving no more than a ministerial act, including but not limited to, approval of minutes and ceremonial proclamations.” Accordingly, members of the public who wish to speak to an action agenda item during a Regular School Board Meeting may speak on items 3-15 and/or item 17; the remainder of the agenda items are either ministerial or are not a “proposition” before the School Board.

• See Policy BEDH - Pilot Program for Public Comment

The following School Board policies govern School Board meetings:

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons needing special accommodation to participate in meetings should contact the Office of School Board Services at 407-317-3236 at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the meeting.  If you need any assistance or adaptive devices to ensure your participation, contact the following:

• If you are hearing impaired, call 407-317-3409.
• For spoken language translation services, call 407-317-3410.
• For the visually impaired, call 407-317-3437.

Watch live (or replay) on the School Board’s YouTube Channel.

Call the Office of School Board Services 407-317-3236.

"Current" minutes are the ones most recently approved by the School Board. The current minutes can be found here.

A video archive of past meetings is available on the School Board YouTube channel. Audio recordings are also stored on the Board You Tube channel or may be acquired by a written records request mailed to OCPS, Records Department, Building 500, 6501 Magic Way, Orlando, FL 32809 or via email to [email protected].

All Regular School Board meetings are broadcast live on Vision TV, an Orange County Government TV channel available on Spectrum channel 492, Comcast channel 98 and digital antenna channel 10.3. Regular School Board Meetings, Work Sessions, and Rule Development Workshops are also streamed live and archived on the OCPS YouTube channel (YouTube.com/OCPSboardmeetings). School Board Meetings are shown and recorded in their entirety with the exception of student discipline, employee matters, and the Pre-Agenda Public Input Period.