Speak at a School Board Meeting

Make yourself heard by the decision-makers themselves, like these parents are doing…

“Fear of speaking is normal, but if we don’t raise our voices, who will? Let’s speak for our children. They deserve the best in education.”

— Celina

“I consider myself an extremely shy person. I’m not lying, I was sweating and panicking, but seeing my son next to me and remembering how sad he was when I told him everything that was happening, gave me the strength to stand up in front of everyone and speak out. Our Pugh family does not deserve to be destroyed. I invite all the parents of our children to join us in raising your voices and sharing how important all the teachers and staff at Pugh are to us. Because education is the best inheritance we can leave them.”

— Madai

“Although I was shaking like a flan, I was proud to fight for my daughters and for my community. It is also important that we all know our rights. Let’s remember that here in the United States, even undocumented immigrants have the right to freedom of expression and religion, the right to be treated fairly, the right to privacy, and other fundamental rights that US citizens have. Let’s raise our voices as high as we can to be heard! We don’t want these changes in our school, period.”

— Jessica

“I was nervous but it was worth it. Practicing my speech beforehand helped me a lot because one minute is short, and I wanted to make sure my message was heard. They see us as data on a spreadsheet instead of as human beings, and that’s why it’s important to go and show them our faces and our voices.”

— Melissa

Getting Started

Make your speech 60 seconds or less (about 150 words). They will cut you off at 1 minute. Note: You will get 2 minutes only if there are fewer than 30 speakers.
They will provide an interpreter if you need one. You can request one when you register.
You may read off of your phone/paper if you write your speech down.
You may speak via Zoom instead of in-person (see step 6 below). If you do, you’ll need to watch the live meeting here then mute it when they admit you to the zoom meeting. Click for more board meeting Zoom tips.
When you register, they’ll ask you which agenda item you want to speak on. Choose an agenda item with a number, so you can speak before board business. Here are links to the agendas and meeting dates. It is not recommended to choose “Hearing of the Community” since that is saved until the end of the meeting, which can last hours.
If you have any problems registering, including not receiving a confirmation email, contact HISD Board Services, preferably before 12:00 noon on the day before the meeting: 713-556-6121, BoardServices@houstonisd.org

Register to Speak

1. First, click here to make an account for their system. You only need to do this step once. Then log into your account any time you want to register to speak at a meeting.

2. Now, you can register to speak at a meeting by clicking the board meeting calendar. **NOTE: You can only register between Monday (12:00 noon) to Wednesday (12:00 noon) of the same week of the meeting.**

3. On this screen, find the date and time for the board meeting you wish to speak at and click on the “e-comment” in the column pointed by the red arrow. (There can be two different meetings on the same date, so check the meeting times.)

4. On the next screen you will see the entire agenda. Scroll to find the agenda item you wish to speak on and click Register to speak (red arrow). Note: It’s best to choose a numbered agenda item rather than hearing of the community so you can speak before the board conducts business.

5. Make sure you click, “I agree, register me” to finalize your registration.

6. If you wish to speak on Zoom, you must follow this extra step. In the speaker registration confirmation email, click on the link to fill out the required form. The form must be submitted before 12 pm the day before the meeting. Be sure to save the zoom link that appears when you submit the form because they will not email you the link. Click for more board meeting Zoom tips.

You’re done! Now, just show up for the meeting and let the public hear your voice!