Changing the format of school board meetings may boost trust and engagement, especially among low-income groups and people of color, research finds. Schools in the United States are set to receive $123 billion in federal pandemic relief funding. Across the country, parents and school administrators are debating whether to teach critical race theory. And Americans are bitterly divided in their opinions about how and when to resume in-person instruction following rising rates of vaccination against COVID-19. Given these topics, you might expect that school board meetings across the US would be hotbeds of discussion. But in many cases, they’re staid, sparsely attended affairs.