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Ohio Supreme Court Says Board Member Use of E-mails May Violate Sunshine Law

Bricker Bullet No. 2016-04

May 10, 2016

In a much-publicized ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court has held that school board members who make a decision about a school-related matter “in a series of e-mail exchanges” can be found in violation of the Ohio Sunshine Law (ORC 121.22). In doing so, the Supreme Court overruled a lower court ruling which had found that the Sunshine Law simply did not apply to “sporadic e-mails” between public officials. The syllabus of the Supreme Court’s decision declared broadly that the Ohio Sunshine Law “prohibits any private prearranged discussion of the public business by a majority of members of a public body regardless of whether discussion occurs face to face, telephonically, by video conference, or electronically by e-mail, text, tweet, or other form of communication.” White v. King, 2016 Ohio 2770 (May 3, 2016). Justices Lanzinger and O’Connor, dissenting, took issue with the wide-open definition of “meeting” which the majority had created, believing that the kind of “meetings” prohibited by the Sunshine Law are “events or gatherings at which real-time communications can occur.” They further warned that the “unintended consequences of broadening the word ‘meeting’ beyond its current definition could affect adversely how members of public bodies do their business.”

The full opinion of the Court can be accessed by following this link .

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Questions concerning the above may be referred to the attorneys of the Education Practice Group at Bricker & Eckler LLP:

Laura G. Anthony, Chair – 614.227.2366 H. Randy Bank – 614.227.8836 Melissa Martinez Bondy – 614.227.8875 Diana S. Brown – 614.227.8823 Kimball H. Carey – 614.227.4891 Melissa M. Carleton – 614.227.4846 Janet K. Cooper – 937.224.1799 Kate Vivian Davis – 937.535.3912 Nicole M. Donovsky – 614.227.4866 Jennifer A. Flint – 614.227.2316 Dane A. Gaschen – 614.227.8887

Susan E. Geary – 614.227.2330 Susan B. Greenberger – 614.227.8848 Warren I. Grody – 614.227.2332 Megan Savage Knox – 614.227.8885 David J. Lampe – 513.870.6561 Beverly A. Meyer – 937.224.1849 Susan L. Oppenheimer – 614.227.8822 Nicholas A. Pittner – 614.227.8815 Richard W. Ross – 614.227.4873 Sue W. Yount – 614.227.233

Please note… These Bricker Bullets are provided to BASA members as an informational service courtesy of the law firm of Bricker & Eckler LLP, a BASA Premier Partner. They are not intended to serve as a legal opinion with respect to any specific person or factual situation.

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