The Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board found no violation of the Open Meetings Act by the Calvert County Board of Education in a complaint alleging that the board secretly discussed modifications to Policy #1015 on Educational Equity before approving them without debate in an open session on Sept. 11, 2025. The opinion, issued Dec. 26, 2025, concluded that the record lacked facts to support the claim of a secret meeting, despite the complainant’s inference from the absence of discussion.
The complaint stemmed from the board’s handling of revisions to Policy #1015, titled “Educational Equity.” On May 8, 2025, the board voted to advance the policy for discussion outside its normal review cycle. At a June 12, 2025, meeting, the board president recommended removing all definitions from the policy that were not listed in state regulations, and the board voted 5-0 to adopt this recommendation. The school district’s Supervisor of Equity then prepared proposed changes, which the board asserts were posted online on Aug. 1, 2025. On Sept. 11, 2025, the board approved the changes unanimously under its consent calendar, with no discussion among members.
The complainant argued that the approved modifications included significant changes beyond those discussed on June 12, 2025, and thus inferred that discussions must have occurred outside an open meeting. “The modified policy that the Board of Education approved on September 11 ‘includes significant changes over and above those discussed by the Board’ at its June 12 meeting,” the opinion noted in summarizing the complaint. The complainant further stated that “discussions of the policy modifications (beyond removing definitions) must have happened outside of a meeting . . . in violation of the Open Meetings Act.”
The board denied any violation, asserting that “no other meetings were held where the Board discussed the modifications to Policy #1015.” The compliance board, in its analysis, emphasized that the Open Meetings Act does not require a public body to conduct its business in a meeting but sets requirements when a quorum convenes to transact public business. “‘Meet’ means to convene a quorum of a public body to consider or transact public business,” the opinion stated, citing General Provisions Article § 3-101(g) of the Maryland Annotated Code.
The board acknowledged past cases where email exchanges among a quorum over a short period constituted a meeting, such as in 19 OMCB Opinions 235 (2025), which cited 19 OMCB Opinions 204 (2025). However, in this instance, the compliance board found no evidence of such communications or any secret gathering. “We have no facts upon which to conclude that the Board of Education did, in fact, have a secret meeting,” the opinion stated. It referenced prior rulings declining to find violations based on inference alone, including 15 OMCB Opinions 132, 134 (2021) and 4 OMCB Opinions 67, 68 (2004).
The opinion noted this was the second recent complaint against the Calvert County Board of Education raising concerns about possible secret meetings. In 19 OMCB Opinions 234 (2025), a similar inference was drawn from a lack of discussion. The compliance board suggested the board “might avoid at least the appearance of impropriety” by having members explain their votes in the future. “The complaint here, and the one we resolved in 19 OMCB Opinions 234 (2025), both inferred from the absence of any discussion that a secret meeting must have occurred,” the opinion added.
Policy #1015 specifies focus areas necessary for Calvert County Public Schools to create an equitable learning environment for each student, according to the district’s equity webpage. The policy aligns with the Maryland State Department of Education’s COMAR 13A.01.06 Educational Equity Policy, adopted in 2019 to improve achievement for all students and eliminate gaps between groups. Calvert County Public Schools’ equity efforts include a District Equity Leadership Team, building-based equity teams, and county-wide book studies on topics such as culturally responsive teaching and grading for equity.
The compliance board’s members—Runako Kumbula Allsopp, Esq., Karen R. Calmeise, Esq., and Andrew G. White, Esq.—unanimously concluded no violation occurred. The opinion did not address the substance of the policy changes, focusing solely on procedural compliance with the Open Meetings Act.
This ruling comes amid broader discussions on equity policies in Calvert County. In August 2025, state education leaders reminded local officials to adhere to state law following the board’s June 2025 vote to remove an anti-racism resolution from its student code of conduct, as reported by Maryland Matters. Separately, the board repealed an anti-racism policy acknowledging institutional racism in schools, according to NBC4 Washington.
Calvert County, part of Southern Maryland, has faced ongoing scrutiny over transparency in educational governance. A 2018 article in the Southern Maryland Chronicle detailed a board meeting on school safety that complied with the Open Meetings Act by closing portions under allowable exceptions.
The Open Meetings Act, enacted to ensure public access to government decision-making, applies to bodies like school boards when a quorum discusses public business. Violations can lead to remedies such as voiding actions or requiring training, but the compliance board here found insufficient evidence to proceed.