Elmhurst Lawmaker Proposes Law That Already Exists - Patch

Rep. Deanne Mazzochi wants the state to require school boards to hear residents' comments.

ELMHURST, IL – State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, an Elmhurst Republican, earlier this year proposed a law that would require school boards to allow parents and guardians to comment on issues at public meetings.

Here's the deal: Such a law has existed for more than a decade.

Under the state Open Meetings Act, every local government body must allow time for public comments.

Entities can set rules for such comments, but they must be fairly applied. And the rules must be content-neutral because of the First Amendment.

In February, Mazzochi and Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, introduced a bill that ensures parents and guardians of students are free to petition school boards and provide comment at all public and regularly scheduled meetings. These requirements would be contained in the school code. She promoted her bill in a recent mailer to constituents.

However, the Legislature amended the Open Meetings Act in 2010 for the same purpose. It states, "Any person shall be permitted an opportunity to address public officials under the rules established and recorded by the public body."

This law is even more expansive than Mazzochi's proposal. She wants to extend the right to speak to parents and guardians, while the existing law applies to "any person."

Mazzochi's bill says nothing about allowing boards to set rules for comments. Now, many government entities limit public comments to a half hour, giving each person two or three minutes to speak.

On Thursday morning, Patch contacted Mazzochi's spokeswoman about the lawmaker's bill. The spokeswoman said she would seek comment from Mazzochi. Patch has not heard back as of early Friday morning.

Mazzochi, a lawyer who joined the Legislature in 2018, is no stranger to local government entities. A few years ago, she chaired the College of DuPage Board of Trustees, which is subject to the open meetings law.

In early February, Mazzochi attended the school board meeting for Hinsdale High School District 86. At the meeting, residents expressed anger over the district's mask mandate and the superintendent's handling of an anti-racism consultant.

District 86 is an example of a government body that goes above requirements for public comment. It allows such feedback at the beginning and end of meetings.

The district has been advised by an open government group to be content-neutral in its public comment rules, citing the First Amendment.

This advice followed the district's settlement of a federal lawsuit over the board's decision to cut off public comments about an assistant superintendent's positions on the science curriculum.

Mazzochi has become an advocate for the parents' rights movement, which has picked up steam in the last year.

Last November, she told Patch that an "inappropriate bias" exists at Elmhurst School District 205's York High School, though she did not define what it was.

Earlier this week, she spoke at an event organized by Elmhurst Parents for Integrity in Curriculum. The group has accused District 205 of indoctrinating students with ideas such as critical race theory.

Mazzochi's bill also includes a requirement that school boards ensure curriculum and learning materials are posted on their websites.

District 205 says it is now doing this.

source: https://patch.com/illinois/elmhurst/elmhurst-lawmaker-proposes-law-already-exists

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