[LeelandS]

There is nothing wrong if a group of students wants to meet privately and discuss something. There is nothing wrong if they meet and make decisions privately. In my honest opinion, a private group meeting amongst a group of friends can be more productive than a team-wide discussion. In eliminates the fear of public speaking, the fear of being judged, and creates a more open and relaxed environment, which, for many people, can breed more creative ideas that can expand into something even greater.

Now, the problem becomes when the decisions made by this group are set in stone then and there. While I generally am a supporter of a small-group discussion and decision making, it's a problem when that group has power that is not kept in check (the same way the U.S. government is set upon a system of checks and balances; to prevent one branch from taking over, their decisions are reviewed and controlled in some manner by one of the other branches).

My suggestion would be to let this group MEET as much as they want. To let this group gather up and DISCUSS as much as they feel they need to discuss. The part to step in at, to me, would be when they reach a "decision". This decision is the thing that should be reviewed. A group of friends can meet and talk as much as they want; there is no way for a team to try and say "No, you can't meet and talk anymore because it's unfair to the other students." That simply can't happen. What should happen, is this private group meets and discusses, and then proposes their results to the team for approval of some kind (a student vote, for example), or vice versa (the team meets as a whole, then this private group discusses that (probably more for a dead-lock in design choosing)).

This is just my humble opinion. It just doesn't seem fair to try and stop a private group of kids from talking, but it also doesn't seem fair to ban them from meeting. It's actually not a bad idea, so long as it's regulated in a way that keeps everything fair and balanced.

I hope this helps!
-Leeland