Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 3319
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 3319.16 (2026)

Termination of contract by board of education

✓ laws through the 2026 session (checked Sept. 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section ORCcodes.ohio.gov (official) Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
Effective:
October 3, 2023
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly
PDF:
Download Authenticated PDF
 

The contract of any teacher employed by the board of education of any city, exempted village, local, county, or joint vocational school district may not be terminated except for good and just cause. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, the provisions of this section relating to the grounds for termination of the contract of a teacher prevail over any conflicting provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered into after October 16, 2009.

Before terminating any contract, the employing board shall furnish the teacher a written notice signed by its treasurer of its intention to consider the termination of the teacher's contract with full specification of the grounds for such consideration. The board shall not proceed with formal action to terminate the contract until after the tenth day after receipt of the notice by the teacher. Within ten days after receipt of the notice from the treasurer of the board, the teacher may file with the treasurer a written demand for a hearing before the board or before a referee, and the board shall set a time for the hearing which shall be within thirty days from the date of receipt of the written demand, and the treasurer shall give the teacher at least twenty days' notice in writing of the time and place of the hearing. If a referee is demanded by either the teacher or board, the treasurer also shall give twenty days' notice to the department of education and workforce. No hearing shall be held during the summer vacation without the teacher's consent. The hearing shall be private unless the teacher requests a public hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by a referee appointed pursuant to section 3319.161 of the Revised Code, if demanded; otherwise, it shall be conducted by a majority of the members of the board and shall be confined to the grounds given for the termination. The board shall provide for a complete record of the proceedings, a copy of the record to be furnished to the teacher. The board may suspend a teacher pending final action to terminate the teacher's contract if, in its judgment, the character of the charges warrants such action.

Both parties may be present at such hearing, be represented by counsel, require witnesses to be under oath, cross-examine witnesses, take a record of the proceedings, and require the presence of witnesses in their behalf upon subpoena to be issued by the treasurer of the board. In case of the failure of any person to comply with a subpoena, a judge of the court of common pleas of the county in which the person resides, upon application of any interested party, shall compel attendance of the person by attachment proceedings as for contempt. Any member of the board or the referee may administer oaths to witnesses. After a hearing by a referee, the referee shall file a report within ten days after the termination of the hearing. After consideration of the referee's report, the board, by a majority vote, may accept or reject the referee's recommendation on the termination of the teacher's contract. After a hearing by the board, the board, by majority vote, may enter its determination upon its minutes. Any order of termination of a contract shall state the grounds for termination. If the decision, after hearing, is against termination of the contract, the charges and the record of the hearing shall be physically expunged from the minutes, and, if the teacher has suffered any loss of salary by reason of being suspended, the teacher shall be paid the teacher's full salary for the period of such suspension.

Any teacher affected by an order of termination of contract may appeal to the court of common pleas of the county in which the school is located within thirty days after receipt of notice of the entry of such order. The appeal shall be an original action in the court and shall be commenced by the filing of a complaint against the board, in which complaint the facts shall be alleged upon which the teacher relies for a reversal or modification of such order of termination of contract. Upon service or waiver of summons in that appeal, the board immediately shall transmit to the clerk of the court for filing a transcript of the original papers filed with the board, a certified copy of the minutes of the board into which the termination finding was entered, and a certified transcript of all evidence adduced at the hearing or hearings before the board or a certified transcript of all evidence adduced at the hearing or hearings before the referee, whereupon the cause shall be at issue without further pleading and shall be advanced and heard without delay. The court shall examine the transcript and record of the hearing and shall hold such additional hearings as it considers advisable, at which it may consider other evidence in addition to the transcript and record.

Upon final hearing, the court shall grant or deny the relief prayed for in the complaint as may be proper in accordance with the evidence adduced in the hearing. Such an action is a special proceeding, and either the teacher or the board may appeal from the decision of the court of common pleas pursuant to the Rules of Appellate Procedure and, to the extent not in conflict with those rules, Chapter 2505. of the Revised Code.

In any court action, the board may utilize the services of the prosecuting attorney, village solicitor, city director of law, or other chief legal officer of a municipal corporation as authorized by section 3313.35 of the Revised Code, or may employ other legal counsel.

A violation of division (A)(7) of section 2907.03 of the Revised Code is grounds for termination of a teacher contract under this section.

Last updated September 12, 2023 at 12:21 PM

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 121 cases (18 in the last 5 years), 1958–2026 · leading case: State ex rel. Unterbrink v. Elida Local Schs. Bd. of Edn., 2020-Ohio-5378.
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State ex rel. Unterbrink v. Elida Local Schs. Bd. of Edn., 2020-Ohio-5378. · cites it 127× “In addition, Unterbrink maintained that because the “Board failed and refused to afford [him] any procedural rights under R.C. 3319.16,” the Board’s termination action is void.”
Bickers v. W. & S. Life Ins., 2007-Ohio-6751, 116 Ohio St. 3d 351. · cites it 28× “I {¶ 3} In 1994, appellee, Shelley Bickers, was injured in the course of her employment with Western & Southern Life Insurance Company (“Western & Southern”).”
Spitulski v. Bd. of Educ. of the Toledo City Sch. Dist., 2018-Ohio-3984, 121 N.E.3d 41. · cites it 23× “This provision of the CBA requires compliance with the Ohio Revised Code, including R.C. 3319.16, relating to the termination of a contract by a board of education.”
Graziano v. Bd. of Educ. of the Amherst Exempted Vill. Sch. Dist., 513 N.E.2d 282 (Ohio 1987). · cites it 15× “The determinative statute in issue, R.C. 3319.16, as it read at the time relevant herein, provided in relevant part: “The contract of a teacher may not be terminated except for gross inefficiency or immorality; for willful and persistent violations of reasonable regulations of…”
Coolidge v. Riverdale Local Sch. Dist., 100 Ohio St. 3d 141 (2003). · cites it 8× “” Coolidge then made a written demand for hearing pursuant to R.C. 3319.16, which was held before a referee on August 1, 2000.”
Humphries v. Lorain City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Edn., 2017-Ohio-8429. · cites it 20× “{¶11} R.C. 3319.16 is the statutory mechanism for the board of education to terminate a teacher’s contract.”
Elsass v. St. Marys City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Edn., 2011-Ohio-1870. · cites it 20× “) {¶9} After receiving notice of the Board’s resolution, Elsass requested a hearing before a neutral referee pursuant to his rights under R.C. 3319.16. The parties mutually selected attorney Jeffrey Amick to decide the disputed facts.”
Lawless v. Lawrence Cty. Bd. of Edn., 2020-Ohio-117, 141 N.E.3d 267. · cites it 9× “Lawless did not exercise that right, and on May 31, 2017, the Board adopted a resolution to terminate her contract pursuant to R.C. 3319.16. C. Legal Proceedings {¶14} On May 25, 2017, Lawless filed a complaint against the Board asserting claims for breach of the duty to defend…”
State ex rel. Edwards v. Toledo City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 72 Ohio St. 3d 106 (1995). · cites it 6× “Edwards asserts in his propositions of law that the court of appeals abused its discretion in sua sponte denying the writ on the basis that R.C. 3319.16 provided him an adequate remedy at law where the pertinent collective bargaining agreement was not before the court.”
Kaplack v. Medina City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Edn., 2025-Ohio-221, 262 N.E.3d 1077. · cites it 20× “Kaplack appealed to the Medina County Court of Common Pleas by filing a complaint pursuant to R.C. 3319.16. In his complaint, Kaplack sought reinstatement to a one-year supplemental contract and payment for the loss of salary incurred for the period from his suspension on…”
State ex rel. Webb v. Bd. of Educ. of Bryan City Sch. Dist., 460 N.E.2d 1121 (Ohio 1984). · cites it 14× “This case concerns the proper construction of R.C. 3319.16 regarding the Ohio termination procedure for teachers and other administrative personnel in public schools.”
Oleske v. Hilliard City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 764 N.E.2d 1110 (Ohio Ct. App. 10th Dist. 2001). · cites it 11× “’ ” Pursuant to R.C. 3319.16, Oleske demanded a hearing before a referee.”
Show all 121 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.