Earlier today, Governor DeWine signed HB 51 into law. This bill allows a public body, including a board of education, to temporarily meet remotely until June 30, 2022.
Normally, under the Open Meetings Act, board members must be present “in person” at a meeting to vote at the meeting and for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio General Assembly passed HB 197 in March 2020, which allowed public bodies to hold meetings and vote by teleconference, video conference, or any other similar electronic technology means. HB 404 later extended that authority until June 30, 2021. However, on July 1, 2021, the temporary authorization expired, public bodies reverted back to the “old” law, and school boards were required to hold their meetings in person again.
HB 51 authorizes virtual board meetings again. The language in HB 51 is nearly identical to the language that appeared in HB 197 and HB 404. School board members may hold and attend meetings and may conduct and attend hearings by means of teleconference, video conference or any other similar electronic technology.
School board members who attend the meeting virtually must be considered present at the meeting or hearing. They are permitted to vote and must be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the meeting or hearing. Any resolution, rule or formal action taken at a virtual meeting has the same effect as if it occurred during an in-person meeting or hearing of the school board.
School boards must provide notification of their virtual meetings and hearings to the public, to the media that have requested notification, and to the parties required to be notified of a hearing. This notice must be provided at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting or the hearing and must include information about the time, location and the manner by which the meeting or hearing will be conducted.
School boards must provide the public with access to their virtual meetings and any hearing to which they would otherwise be entitled to attend. That access must be commensurate with the method in which the meeting or hearing is being conducted, including examples such as livestreaming by means of the internet, local radio, television, cable or public access channels, call in information for a teleconference or by means of any other similar electronic technology. The school board must ensure that the public can observe, when applicable, and hear the discussions and deliberations of all the school board members, regardless of whether the member is participating in person or electronically.
When members of the school board conduct a virtual hearing, they must establish a means, through the use of electronic equipment that is widely available to the general public, to converse with witnesses and receive documentary testimony and physical evidence.
HB 51 was passed by the General Assembly with an emergency clause, which means that as soon as Governor DeWine signed the bill today, public bodies were once again able to hold their meetings virtually. The authorization for virtual meetings will be in effect until June 30, 2022.
Please reach out to OSBA’s division of legal services with questions about HB 51 or your legal obligations under Ohio’s Open Meetings Act.