Attorney outlines teacher-termination process under Ohio law at Perrysburg board meeting

Julia Bauer, an attorney with Scott Scriven LLP, gave a public presentation at the Perrysburg Exempted Village Board of Education meeting on June 16, 2025, outlining how Ohio law governs termination of contract employees such as teachers and administrators.

Bauer told the board she would present a “mile-high view” of the legal process and noted the discussion was taking place in public session: “the communications that we are gonna have right now are not subject to the attorney client privilege,” she said, and added she would not address individual personnel cases.

The presentation focused on Ohio Revised Code section 3319.16, the statute commonly called the teacher-termination law. Bauer said most public-school employees work under contract rather than at-will, and that the statute requires districts to show “good and just cause” to terminate an employee. She described the test used by hearing officers and courts as a two-step inquiry: prove the facts, then prove the significance of the conduct so it merits termination. "The courts have said it is a…