Individuals who wish to participate in the public comment portion of a meeting may do so by signing up in advance of the meeting. To sign up to speak, that individual must send an email to [email protected] by 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting, with your name and specific topic of discussion. At the outset of the public forum, the speakers that signed up will be called forward individually and allowed to speak to the Board. Please note participation in public comment will remain governed by Houston Gateway Academy Board Policy BED(LEGAL) and BED(LOCAL).

The Houston Gateway Academy Board of Trustees invites community members to address the Board during the open forum portion of each Regular meeting.  Public audiences are subject to the following guidelines.

If speakers wish to share written material with the Board, it should be of a non-confidential nature and copies of the material should be provided to Secretary for Board Services before the meeting begins.

Persons who wish to participate in the open forum portion of the meeting shall provide their first and last name, and shall indicate the topic about which they wish to speak.  Patrons who do not provide their first and last name will not be allowed to speak.

A total of 15 minutes is allotted for open forum, with the time divided evenly among speakers. The maximum time allowed for any speaker is 2 minutes. 

The use of audiovisual equipment, posters or displays during a presentation is not allowed.

The Board does not respond directly to comments nor answer questions asked by speakers.  Texas law does not allow the Board to discuss or take action on any issue presented during the Open Forum unless the item has already been posted for action on the meeting agenda.

Speakers must limit comments to issues that can be presented in a public forum. Complaints about student discipline, specific student issues or personnel must be addressed through appropriate administrative channels. Employees or members of the public are reminded that they must follow and exhaust all administrative remedies prior to presenting complaints about a student matter or district personnel to the Board. 

The Board shall not tolerate disruption of the meeting by members of the audience and may request assistance from law enforcement officials to have a disruptive person removed from the meeting.