Sec. 1. (a) School employers and school employees shall:
(1) have the obligation and the right to bargain collectively the items set forth in section 4 of this chapter; and
(2) enter into a contract embodying any of the matters listed in section 4 of this chapter on which they have bargained collectively.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, before a school employer and school employees may privately negotiate the matters described in subsection (a)(1) during the time period for formal collective bargaining established in section 12 of this chapter, the parties must hold at least one (1) public hearing and take public testimony to discuss the items described in subsection (a). The public hearing under this subsection may take place at a regular or special meeting of the governing body. A school employer may allow governing body members or the public to participate in a public hearing under this subsection by means of electronic communication.