TASB College eLaw

TASB College eLaw is a collection of free higher education law resources for community college officials and the college community.

Governance

• Governance Generally
• Records
• Conflicts
• Open Meetings Act - Basics
• Open Meetings Procedures
• Open Meetings Act - Closed Meetings

Coronavirus
Discrimination and Harassment
First Amendment and Campus Expression
Elections and Tax
Business
Safety and Emergency Management
Personnel
Instruction

Governance

Governance Generally

• Social Media Guidelines for Community College Board Members (pdf) offers practical tips for avoiding legal and ethical problems in the use of online communications about community college matters.
• Trustees and Technology (pdf) explores various legal issues implicated by a trustee's use of technology, such as open meetings, records retention, public information disclosure, information security, social networking, and cyberharassment.
• Community College Board Member Resignations (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about replacing a resigning board member.
• Working with Your College Attorney (pdf) addresses all aspects of the relationship between community college officials and a college’s attorney, including in-house counsel.
• Community College Grievance Process (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the process for grievances filed by employees, students, and community members.
• What Laws Apply to Community Colleges? (pdf) offers practical tips for determining if a state law applies to the colleges.

Records

• Community College Records Management and the Public Information Act (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the Texas Public Information Act including what constitutes public information, how to respond to requests, information exempt from disclosure, and related penalties.
• Board Member Access to Community College Records (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about a board member’s right to access records.

Conflicts

• Required Conflict of Interest Disclosure Chart (pdf) outlines the financial interests a community college office must disclose how to comply with statutory requirement.
• Dual Office Holding Issues for Community College Board Trustees (pdf) answers frequently asked questions and provides examples regarding community college board members simultaneously serving in other offices or positions of employment.
• Board Members as Employees and Volunteers at the Community College (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about why trustees cannot simultaneously serve as college employees or volunteers at the same college.
• Gifts to Community College Trustees (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about legal restrictions on gifts and benefits offered to board members and college employees.

Open Meetings Act - Basics

• Open Government Training Requirements (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the legally required OMA and Texas Public Information Act (PIA) training for community college officials.
• Open Meetings Act—Basic Principles (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the OMA requirements for community college board meetings.

Open Meetings Procedures

• Meeting Notice Requirements (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about meeting notice requirements under the OMA.
• Emergency Meetings (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about notice requirements for emergency meetings under the OMA and related issues.
• Public Comment (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the requirements for a public comment period at board meetings.
• Voting (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about voting at a community college board meeting.
• Remote Participation in Board Meetings (pdf) provides information about conducting board meetings via teleconference or videoconference.
• Model meeting documents that comply with the OMA and Roberts Rules of Order:
  • Regular Meeting Notice/Agenda (docx)
  • Emergency Meeting Notice/Agenda (docx)
  • Regular Meeting Minutes (docx)

Open Meetings Act - Closed Meetings

• Closed Meeting Topics and Procedures (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about how and when a board may hold a closed meeting under the OMA.
• Closed Meeting Records (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about who can access closed meeting records.
• Attendance at Closed Meetings (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about who can attend closed sessions during a board meeting.
• eLaw Sample Document used for Closed Meetings:
  • Certified Agenda (docx) gives Texas community college boards a template for compliance with the OMA requirement that boards document closed meetings.

Coronavirus

• Families First Coronavirus Response Act Employee Leave Provisions (pdf) summarizes the Families First Coronavirus Response Act Emergency Paid Sick Leave and the Emergency Family Leave Expansion provisions and associated guidance.
• Responding to the Risk of Infectious Disease in the College Community (pdf) answers frequently asked questions that arise as community colleges are planning for, or engaging in, infectious disease response.
• Personnel Issues During Disasters, Emergencies, and College Closings (pdf) is a Q&A answering frequently asked questions about compensating employees during college closings. The appendix to the Q&A includes four resolutions (docx) also available in an editable word format.
• End of Open Meetings Act Suspension Order on September 1, 2021 (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the OMA after the governor’s suspension of certain OMA provisions has lifted. 

Discrimination and Harassment

• Incorporating the New Title IX Regulations into Policy (pdf) provides an overview of the Title IX regulations recently issued by the U.S. Department of Education to address complaints of student and employee sexual harassment and related local policy considerations.
• Title IX Regulations and State Law Side-by-Side (pdf) presents the Title IX regulations issued in May 2020 and the state law sexual harassment policy provisions to enable a comparison between the legal requirements.

First Amendment and Campus Expression

• First Amendment Basics (pdf) provides an overview of the protections granted by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as they relate to higher education.
• Campus Expression and Facilities Use (pdf) discusses select federal and state laws addressing student, employee, and community expression on campus and their use of community college facilities.

Elections and Tax

• Deadlines for May 2023 Community College Elections (pdf) provides important dates and deadlines applicable to community colleges preparing for the May 2023 election.
• Notice of Candidate Filing Period for May 6, 2023 Election (pdf) advises community colleges of the requirement to notify the public of the filing period for running for college trustee on May 6, 2023. The deadline to post this notice is December 19, 2022.
• Deadlines for November 2022 Community College Elections (pdf) provides important dates and deadlines applicable to community colleges preparing for the November 2022 election.
• Overview of Budget & Tax Rate Adoption (pdf) outlines the intersecting legal requirements of the Texas Education, Tax, and Election Codes in the board’s process of approving its annual budget and adopting a property tax rate.
• Timelines for Budget & Tax Rate Adoption (pdf) provides the chronology of deadlines for board approval of college budgets and adoption of property tax rates, as well as voter-approval tax rate elections.
• Notice and Website Posting Requirements for Budget & Tax Rate Adoption (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the notice that must be provided to the public during the budget and tax rate adoption process, including the required contents and methods of distribution. The appendix to the Q&A includes two notices (docx) also available in an editable word format. 
• Board Procedures & Resolutions for Adopting Tax Rate (docx) includes sample resolutions for use by a community college board when adopting the college’s tax rate.
• Community College Voter-Approval Tax Rate Elections in 2022 (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the legal parameters for voter-approval tax rate elections that may follow a community college’s annual adoption of a property tax rate.
• After the Board Election (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about what to do immediately following the board election, including canvassing votes and reorganization.
• Frequently Asked Questions about Legislative Advocacy (pdf) addresses advocacy by a community college, its trustees, and its employees during the legislative session.

Business

• Required and Optional Internet Postings (pdf) provides a list of both required and optional postings for a community college’s internet website.
• Community College Website Accessibility (pdf) answers frequently asked questions and addresses current issues related to website accessibility, including rulemaking under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and recent litigation and complaints with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
• Prohibited Community College Contracts—Boycotts, Firearms Discrimination, and Foreign-Owned Companies (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about prohibited community college contracts with certain foreign-owned companies and legal requirements that community college contracts with companies must contain verifications regarding boycotts and discrimination against the firearm industry.
• Community College Board Members Guide to Purchasing (pdf) explains the board’s role in procurement and the laws that guide the board in its decision-making.
• Use of Public Funds by Community Colleges (pdf) provides an overview of certain restrictions and considerations on the use of public funds by community colleges.

Safety and Emergency Management

• Conducting Searches of Community College Employees and Students (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about a community college’s authority to conducts searches of employees and students.
• Epinephrine Auto-Injectors Administered by Community Colleges (pdf) discusses the use of epinephrine to treat anaphylaxis on a community college campuses, including the legal requirements for a college with a policy that authorizes the administration of unassigned epinephrine auto-injectors.
• Firearms on Community College Campuses (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the firearm laws, including those specifically addressing carry on campus.

Personnel

• Conflicts of Interest: Nepotism (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the prohibition on nepotism in hiring and the college officials to whom the prohibition applies.
• Affordable Care Act (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions relevant to employers, including the employer shared responsibility requirements and associated full-time employee determinations.
• Publication of Equal Employment Opportunity Statements (pdf) answers frequently asked questions about the publication of EEO statements.

Instruction

• Dual Credit (pdf) answers frequently asked questions that arise surrounding dual credit instruction and partnerships.