Kansas school board elections, 2026

Kansas 2026 elections

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State profile

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No Kansas school districts that overlap with the nation's 100 largest cities or that are among the nation's 200 largest school districts and for which Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage are holding school board elections in 2026.

Election rules

View election rules

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board nonpartisan primary elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in August every two years in odd-numbered years. Primary elections are only held if more than three candidates run for one seat in a single-seat race or if the number of candidates for a multi-seat race is more than three times the number of open seats. If three or fewer candidates run for a school board seat, the primary is canceled and the candidates automatically advance to the general election.

School board general elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.

See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts except Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207)

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts except Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

Filing deadline date: June 2, 2025
Primary election date: August 5, 2025
General election date: November 4, 2025

Election system

School board members in Kansas are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. The primary election is only held if a large enough number of candidates run for office.

See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2006

School board members for the Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207) are appointed by the commanding general of Fort Leavenworth. The Fort Leavenworth School District is located entirely within the Fort Leavenworth military base.

See law: Kansas Statutes Section 72-533b

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Kansas are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Kansas Statute Section 25-2009 states, "School elections shall be nonpartisan and laws applicable only to partisan elections shall not apply in such elections."

See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2009

Winning an election

The school board candidate or candidates that receive the most votes in the general election are elected to office.

Primary elections are only held if more than three candidates run for one seat in a single-seat race or if the number of candidates for a multi-seat race is more than three times the number of open seats. If three or fewer candidates run for a school board seat, the primary is canceled and the candidates automatically advance to the general election. If there is a primary election, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election for single-seat races, and the number of candidates with the most votes equal to twice the number of seats up for election advance to the general election for multi-seat races. In the general election, the candidate or candidates that receive the most votes are elected.

See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021

Term length and staggering

School board members are elected to four-year terms.

See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021

As close to an equal number of school board members as possible are up for regular election every odd-numbered year. This means three board member seats are up for election in one odd-numbered year and four seats are up for election in the following odd-numbered year for districts with the statute-set seven board members.

See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2018

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members are elected either at large or through a combination of at large and by sub-district, depending on the voting plan of the district. School boards choose a voting plan for each election from the following three options: (a) entirely at large in both the primary election and the general election, (b) through a sub-district method in the primary election and at large in the general election, or (c) through a sub-district method in both the primary election and general election. If using a sub-district method, the school district can have six sub-districts, three sub-districts, or two sub-districts. Each sub-district method requires one member elected at large. For the method with six sub-districts, one member is elected from each sub-district. For the method with three sub-districts, two members are elected from each sub-district. For the method with two sub-districts, three members are elected from each sub-district. As of 2022, 190 school districts (66%) elected all of their board members at large, and 96 school districts (34%) used one of the methods involving one at-large member and six members elected from six, three, or two sub-districts.

See law: Kansas Statute Section 25-2004

Kansas Statute Section 25-2005

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

The filing deadline for school board candidates is 12 p.m. on June 1 of the election year or the following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday.

See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-205

Newly elected school board members take office on the second Monday in January following the election.

See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2023

Recalls

See also: Recall campaigns in Kansas and School board recalls

State	Specific grounds required?	Signature requirement	Petition circulation time	When recalls can start
Kansas	Yes: "conviction of a felony, misconduct in office or failure to perform duties prescribed by law"^[1]	40% of votes cast for the office in the last election	90 days	Recalls cannot start until an official has been in office for 120 days, and they cannot start in the last 200 days of an officer's term

State profile

Demographic data for Kansas
	Kansas	U.S.
Total population:	2,906,721	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	81,759	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	85.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	5.8%	12.6%
Asian:	2.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.8%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	3.3%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	11.2%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.2%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	31%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$52,205	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kansas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Kansas

Kansas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

More Kansas coverage on Ballotpedia

Footnotes

↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of Local Officials," accessed July 27, 2021

[ncsl-1] National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of Local Officials," accessed July 27, 2021

[1]

Kansas	School Boards	News and Analysis

Public education in Kansas List of school districts in Kansas School board elections in Kansas School board authority in Kansas	School board elections, 2026 School board elections, 2025 Kansas school board elections, 2025	Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey School board election data analysis, 2025

Kansas school board elections, 2026

Contents

Election rules

Election dates and frequency

Election system

Party labels on the ballot

Winning an election

Term length and staggering

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

Recalls

State profile

Presidential voting pattern

See also

Footnotes

Information about voting

2026 Elections

2025 Elections

Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

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