Fort Bend ISD changes public comment sign-up deadline for workshops and board meetings

Fort Bend ISD officials announced the district has made changes to its sign-up deadline for anyone wanting to speak during the public comment period of workshop and regular board meetings, according to a July 2 news release.

What you need to know

Interested participants will now have until noon on the day of the meeting to sign up to speak rather than the district’s previous deadline at 4:30 p.m. on the day of the meeting, per the release.

The changes, which were approved at a June 15 board of trustees meeting, were made to give staff more time to go through speaker requests, develop meeting materials and to ensure the comment process runs as smoothly as possible.

Diving in deeper

Beth Martinez, Fort Bend ISD’s deputy superintendent chief of staff, said during the June 8 agenda review meeting the changes to the public comment policy was recommended by the Texas Association of School Boards and is also associated with Senate Bill 12.

“This is the opportunity to codify that with TASB’s guidance with the input from the committee,” Martinez said.

Next steps

The new public comment deadline will go into effect starting at July meetings, per the release.