Here in the Legal Division, we answer a lot of questions about board meeting agendas. Agendas are an important tool boards use to conduct efficient meetings and keep discussions at meetings on track. Given how commonly boards of education use agendas, it may be surprising to learn that the Ohio Revised Code (RC) has nothing to say about them.* This means that the creation and use of agendas are governed almost entirely by board policy.
Most boards of education have a policy on how agendas are created and distributed prior to board meetings. For OSBA policy subscribers, this is policy BDDC. Very often, the board president and superintendent are given primary responsibility for preparing and distributing the agenda to board members prior to the meeting. The policy frequently dictates a time (such as two days prior to the meeting) by which an agenda must be distributed. Again, however, this process is a matter of policy, so each board should check to determine what its practices on agenda preparation and distribution to board members and the public.
A board member other than the president who wants to place (or remove) an item from a meeting agenda has several options to do so. One way is to communicate with the superintendent or the board president prior to the meeting. Members should be careful that such discussions do not involve a majority or more of the members, so as to avoid Open Meetings Act violations.
Another way members can accomplish this is by voting to amend the agenda at the meeting itself. While each district may set its own parliamentary procedure rules, generally speaking, agendas are adopted at the beginning of each board meeting. Agendas can be amended before or after adoption. Absent other policy provisions, agendas may be amended prior to adoption by a majority of the board. After adoption, agendas can typically be modified only by a two-thirds vote of the board. For OSBA policy subscribers, this process is also described in policy BDDC.
Agendas are meant to be tools of the board and thus should not be used to silence discussion on important topics. Board members should familiarize themselves with their own board’s policies, as they may differ slightly from what is described here.
*As a final note, board members should be aware that while the Ohio Revised Code does not mandate the use of agendas, boards need to make sure they are complying with the notice requirements for special meetings under state law. The law requires boards to issue notice containing the time, place and purpose of special meetings. Thus, while the board is not technically required to create or distribute an agenda for special meetings, it must include in its notice information about all the matters the board plans to discuss and/or act upon at the meeting.