Education Law Notes  

Bitter cold snaps and snowstorms (along with non-winter related weather events) may not just be annoying, they can also impact compliance with Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and its meeting requirements.  Dangerous weather conditions may impact one’s ability (or desire) to attend and conduct board meetings.  Here are some practical pointers for dealing with weather related FOIA issues.  

A quick refresher on regular and special meetings (and remote meetings):  Generally, by January 31, public agencies (which include both boards and their subcommittees) must file a schedule of planned meetings with the city/town clerk for the ensuing year.  Those listed meetings (and meeting dates) are considered to be a public agency’s “regular meetings.”  The FOIA requires public agencies to provide 24 hours’ advance notice/posting of their agendas for regular meetings.  In addition, agencies wishing to conduct a “remote” or “hybrid” regular meeting must provide at least 48 hours’ notice/posting of the fact that they will be holding such a meeting, with instructions for accessing the meeting made available to the public in the ensuing agenda.  A notice of a special meeting must be posted 24 hours in advance and must indicate if it will be a “remote” or “hybrid” meeting, and if so, must include instructions for accessing the meeting.

What happens if inclement weather is forecasted (or actually occurs)?  If a public agency does not want to cancel a regular meeting, but wishes to switch to a remote format, it can do so provided it furnishes the 48 hour advance notice required for remote meetings.  However, within the 48-hour window of the scheduled regular meeting, that option is not available.  The same would apply with a special meeting within the 24-hour special meeting window.  

An agency could also simply cancel its regular meeting and then reschedule it (whether in person or remote) as a special meeting, since the rescheduled date would not have been on the listing of regular meeting dates.  However, unlike a regular meeting, an agency cannot add items to the agenda of a special meeting and thus would have to post an agenda with all items to be considered at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Don’t forget about “adjournment:”  Using the adjournment procedures may be particularly handy in the event of inclement weather in order to avoid having to convene a “special meeting.”  The FOIA provides that a public agency may adjourn any meeting to the time and place that it specifies in the order of adjournment.  In so doing, the public agency may act by less than a quorum when a quorum is not present.  If all of the agency’s members are absent from a regular meeting, the agency’s clerk or secretary (if in-person) is authorized to declare the meeting adjourned to a stated time and place.  Within 24 hours of the adjournment of any regular or special meeting, a copy of the order or notice of adjournment must be conspicuously posted on or near the door of the place where the meeting was held.  The notice should state that the meeting was adjourned to the stated time and place, and if a quorum was not present – thus causing the adjournment, mention such fact as the reasoning for adjournment.

Can we just decide to cancel the meeting?  Yes. Parenthetically, Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) has noted that while nothing in the FOIA requires an agency to post a notice of a cancellation of a meeting, agencies may wish to do so “as a courtesy” and in light of the “spirit of the law.”

But can we simply decide to go forward with the meeting?  Yes.  Nothing in the FOIA requires or dictates when public agencies should meet; the FOIA just requires that when agencies do meet, such meetings comply with the FOIA.  The FOIC rejected a claim that a public agency violated the FOIA by holding a regular meeting during a blizzard (which had the obvious effect of preventing the public from attending the meeting), noting that there is nothing in the FOIA that prohibits an agency from convening a properly noticed meeting during a snowstorm.  While it is the job of a public agency to make sure that its meetings are in public and properly noticed consistent with the FOIA, there is nothing in the FOIA that requires that meetings take place at optimal times (or in optimal conditions).

Options for board members if they are afraid of traveling to a meeting?  Even if a board decides to proceed with an in-person meeting, a board member still has the right to participate in the meeting remotely.

Can we just end the meeting early (if the weather worsens)?  Yes.  There is nothing in the FOIA which requires an agency to address all of the items listed on its agenda.  Thus, there is no violation of the FOIA if an agency does not reach or discuss an item on its agenda before it adjourns.

Please note: This post was adapted from an article written by the author for the March 2026 edition of the CABE Journal; it is republished here with permission.