Denver school board adopts new public comment rules limiting speakers to 2 minutes each – Chalkbeat

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After more than a year with temporary limits in place, the Denver school board unanimously adopted new public comment rules Thursday that will shorten each speaker’s time from three minutes to two.
The rules apply to the school board’s monthly public comment session. Other changes include:
The new rules and restrictions are set to go into effect on Jan. 1. If only individuals and not groups spoke during the 30-minute time limits, no more than 15 individuals could speak on a particular agenda item or during unrestricted public comment.
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Past public comments sessions stretched until midnight or later before votes on contentious topics. Last fall, the then-president of the board, Xóchitl “Sochi” Gaytán, enacted a temporary two-hour time limit while the board worked on the more permanent policy adopted Thursday.
Current board President Carrie Olson and Vice President Marlene De La Rosa unveiled the first draft of the new policy in September. The first draft was even more limiting than the final version in that it didn’t allow for any unrestricted public comment.
Students, parents, teachers, and others have long criticized Denver Public Schools of not listening to their concerns or soliciting feedback in a performative way.
At the same time the board is restricting public comment, members are working on a plan to host 10 “community cafes” per year. Board members said the cafes are meant to be an opportunity for city residents to talk to the board in a less formal way than at public comment.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
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