Holding closed sessions in school board meetings to reach major policy decisions is generally discouraged; but, school boards occasionally use this tactic if conflict and tension arise. Therefore, the questions of "how often does a Board of Education encounter conflict and tension" and "how is the decision made to schedule a closed session to discuss school issues" are extremely relevant in these times of public transparency. This research studied the perceptions of superintendents regarding closed sessions of the Board of Education. A survey was sent electronically to all current superintendents in Illinois. The survey was sponsored by the Center for The Study of Education Policy housed at Illinois State University. The Center conducts an annual statewide survey of superintendents to explore areas related to the state of student learning and school administration in Illinois and provides timely information on vital issues to the superintendency. This study gathered electronic survey demographic data on the superintendents' experience, age, gender, and years in the current position along with the district's size, type, geographic area, and socioeconomic status of the school population. This study examined superintendents' perceptions of the reasons to meet in closed session, the decision-making regarding the agenda, who lead the closed session discussion, the final board action following the closed session, and other pertinent issues. A comprehensive analysis of the data is discussed along with recommendations for further research. (Contains 2 footnotes.)