As new Ohio school board members are becoming acquainted with public meetings, it is a good time to review some helpful tips regarding board member communications, including executive sessions.
Communications between multiple board members outside of the open meeting
Communications of official board business privately between multiple board members before, during, or after meetings violates Ohio’s Open Meetings Act (OMA). One Ohio court has concluded that passed notes and whispered conversations among board members during an open meeting constructively closed off that portion of the meeting. See page 141 of the 2025 Ohio Sunshine Law Manual. During meetings, board members may want to refrain from using their cell phones to avoid any appearance that private deliberations are occurring.
Executive sessions can only be called during regular or special public meetings
Executive sessions are private meetings among the members of the board, and others they include, on a limited number of topics described in the Open Meetings Act. Executive sessions can take place only during regular or special meetings of the board, meaning that the board must first open a public meeting and then have a roll call vote to enter executive session. The board can call a special meeting with the specific intent of having an executive session during the meeting so long as the public is provided notice of the time, place and purpose of the meeting at least 24 hours prior.
Prior to entering any executive session, a motion must be made specifying the permissible reason(s) for the executive session. During the executive session, the board may discuss only the topics prescribed in the motion and cannot make any formal decisions until they are back in the public session. The board can invite into executive session anybody they believe should be included as part of the conversation.
After executive session, the board should return to the location of the public meeting and finish the meeting
Once the board has concluded the executive session, it should physically return to the public meeting, or open the doors to the space giving time to allow the public to re-enter, and then conclude any remaining business before officially adjourning the public meeting. If any votes are necessary following the executive session discussion, they should take place in this open meeting portion. If you have general questions regarding the Open Meetings Act or executive session, please feel free to reach out to OSBA’s legal division at 855-OSBA-LAW, for more specific questions please reach out to your board’s counsel.
See the following OSBA publications for additional information on public meetings and executive session:
Public participation at school board meetings