Bismarck, N.D. (AP) North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says the board of higher education broke the law when it asked the public to leave an open meeting.
The board instructed the public to leave the meeting held during a July retreat. Board members planned to discuss problems affecting the group and ways to improve their performance.
Stenehjem says that asking a person to leave a public meeting "has a chilling effect on a person's right to attend the meeting.'' He adds that he is concerned over what he described as the board's "continual attempts'' to dismiss the requirements of the state's open meetings law.
Stenehjem has ordered the board to amend the minutes of the meeting in question to provide a detailed account of what was discussed during the session.