Election dates and frequency
- See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing
School board general elections in Illinois are held on the first Tuesday in April every two years in odd-numbered years for all districts except for Chicago Public Schools and Peoria Public Schools.
School board general elections in the Peoria Public Schools District in Illinois are held annually. In odd-numbered years, the school board election election is on the first Tuesday in April. In even-numbered years, the election is on the third Tuesday in March.
School board general elections in the Chicago Public Schools District in Illinois are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law: Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 9-5 and Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 33-1 and Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 34-3
Recent or upcoming election dates for all school districts except Peoria Public Schools and Chicago Public schools Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all school districts except Peoria Public Schools and Chicago Public schools. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: December 21, 2026
- General election date: April 6, 2027
Election system
School board members in Illinois are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.
See law: Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 9-5
Party labels on the ballot
- See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections
School board elections in Illinois are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Illinois Statute establishes that school board members be elected in the nonpartisan consolidated odd-year election. Statute establishes a nomination process for school board candidates without a partisan primary or any other sort of nomination by political parties and without party designation by candidates.
See law:
Illinois Election Code Sections 10-3.1 and 16-3
Winning an election
The school board candidates that receive the largest number of votes in the general election are elected to office.
See law: Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 9-5
Term length and staggering
Peoria Public Schools as of 2022 had five-year board member terms.
School districts in Illinois except Peoria Public Schools as of 2022 had four-year board member terms.
See law: Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 9-5 and Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 33-1
For all districts that hold elections every two years and have four-year board member terms, as close to half of board members are elected at each election. As of 2022, Peoria Public Schools was the only district with annual elections, and the remaining schools held elections every two years. Most districts have seven board members, which means that either three or four members are elected every two years in those districts.
For districts that hold annual elections, either one or two board members are up for election every year. As of 2022, Peoria Public Schools was the only district with annual elections and had either one or two board members up for election every year.
See law: Illinois Election Code Section 10-10 and Illinois School Code Sec. 34-3 and Illinois Election Code Section 10-10 and Peoria Public Schools Policy
Representation: at large vs. by sub-district
School districts other than Chicago Public Schools and Peoria Public Schools can have school boards with all members elected at large from the entire district or school boards with members elected by election sub-districts. School districts can have board member election plans (often based on townships) that are grandfathered in, that are based on special acts, or that have been adjusted due to Federal laws on representation. As of 2022, 820 districts (96%) had board members elected at large, and 32 districts (4%) had board members elected by sub-districts.
The school board members of the Chicago Public Schools district and the Peoria Public Schools district are elected by sub-districts.
See law: Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 34-3 and Sec. 34-3 and Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 33-1
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates in Illinois must file nomination papers by 106 days before the election. For school districts with elections at the April, odd-year consolidated election, this means the filing deadline is in mid December of even-numbered years for the election in the following year. For 2024 specifically, the legislature passed a law that applied only to Chicago Public Schools that the petition circulation period began on March 26, 2024, and the candidate filing window was from June 17, 2024 to June 24, 2024.
See law: Illinois Election Code Section 10-6
School board candidates cannot file nomination papers until 113 days before the election. For school districts with elections at the April, odd-year election, this means they can begin filing nomination papers one week before the filing deadline in mid December of even-numbered years for the election in the following year. Candidates can begin circulating a nominating petition 90 days before the filing deadline.
See law: Illinois Election Code Section 10-6
