Department of Defense adopts new restrictions that may affect military reservist school board members

Stuart Knade, Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve, calls our attention to recent legal changes that may affect school board members who serve in the military reserves, including the National Guard. Under existing law, reservists serving on active duty for periods expected to exceed 270 days already have been prohibited from exercising the functions of a civilian governmental office, although they may continue to hold the office if this does not interfere with the performance of military duties or violate other law. Until now, however, reservists in such cases were expressly allowed to continue to hold such offices, without obtaining advance approval. A new version of the Department of Defense (DOD) directive, below, on “Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces” says reservists called to active duty for periods expected to exceed 270 days must request approval from the Secretary of their military service in order to continue holding the office. The directive also prohibits military members on active duty for longer than 270 days from being nominees or candidates for elective office, unless such permission is granted. The directive includes a template for requests for permission to be a candidate. Without such permission, a member who already was a nominee or candidate is required to withdraw from the race. All reservists on active duty who are permitted to be candidates, whether by approval or due to shorter anticipated tour length, are barred from having any involvement in political campaigns on their behalf. There are two limited exceptions: enlisted members may run for non-partisan election to school boards, and commissioned and warrant officers may run for non-partisan election to school boards operating exclusively on military installations.