The board shall conduct executive sessions only as provided in the Kansas Open Meetings Act (“KOMA”).

Any motion to recess for a closed or executive session shall include:

1. A statement describing the subjects to be discussed during the closed or executive meeting;

2. the justification for closing the meeting; and

3. the time and place at which the open meeting shall resume.

A subject of executive session is the matter or issue presented for discussion, and the motion must include a brief description of the subject(s) to be discussed in the executive session while still protecting important privacy interests.

Acceptable justifications for recessing into executive session include the following:

• The non-elected personnel exception under KOMA;

• The exception for matters which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship under KOMA;

• The exception for employer-employee negotiations under KOMA;

• The exception for data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts, and individual proprietorships under KOMA;

• The exception relating to actions adversely or favorably affecting a student under KOMA;

• The exception for preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property under KOMA;

• The exception under KOMA for school security matters to ensure the security of the school, its buildings, and/or its systems is not jeopardized.

Discussion during the closed or executive session shall be limited to those subjects stated in the motion. No binding action shall be taken during closed or executive session. The complete motion to recess into closed or executive session shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting and maintained as a part of the permanent records of the board.

If necessary, the closed or executive session may be extended with approval of another motion made after the board returns to open session.

Sample Motions for Executive Session

A motion looks like the following. “I move we go into executive session to [fill in subject(s)] pursuant to [fill in justification], and the open meeting will resume in the board room at [fill in time].” If the board wishes to invite additional individuals, such as the superintendent, into executive session, they should also mention them in the motion.