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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Arkansas
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| Arkansas overview: • Election dates: Varies |
| Key policies: • Election dates and timing • Party labels on the ballot |
| Key terms • On-cycle elections • Off-cycle elections • Off-year elections • Off-date elections • Party labels • Partisan elections • Nonpartisan elections |
The board of each school district chooses to conduct its annual school board election according to either a spring schedule or a fall schedule. The fall schedule has the general election in November. The spring schedule has a March general election in presidential election years and a May general election in nonpresidential election years.
The date of the school board general runoff election depends on whether the school district has opted for a Spring or November election schedule. The runoff election is held four weeks after the general election only if no candidate for a school district position receives a majority of the votes or if there is a tie vote.
See law: Arkansas Code 6-14-102 and Arkansas Code 6-14-121
There were 237 public school districts in Arkansas with a total of more than 1,400 school board member seats as of 2024. Those school districts operated a total of 1,060 schools serving 474,826 students.
You will find the following information on this page:
- the timing and frequency of school board elections
- candidate filing deadlines
- the number of school board members
- the length of school board terms
- the way in which elections for different board seats are staggered
- recent changes to laws governing school board election timing
- how Arkansas compares to other states
- when new board members officially take office.
Across the country, there are 13,024 public school districts governed by a total of about 82,600 board members. Most school board members are elected directly by voters, while a small number of districts have appointed school board members or a combination of appointed and elected school board members.
The timing of elections for school board members varies widely across states and even across districts in the same state in some cases. In 14 states, most school board elections are held on-cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years. Most school board elections in the other states are held off-cycle. This includes off-date elections—for example, elections held in the spring or summer—and off-year elections held in odd-numbered years.
On-cycle local elections have higher voter turnout than off-cycle local elections.
The information in this page was last updated in 2022. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates, corrections, exceptions, or improvements.
Election dates and frequency
The board of each school district chooses to conduct its annual school board election according to either a spring schedule or a fall schedule. The fall schedule has the general election in November. The spring schedule has a March general election in presidential election years and a May general election in nonpresidential election years.
The date of the school board general runoff election depends on whether the school district has opted for a Spring or November election schedule. The runoff election is held four weeks after the general election only if no candidate for a school district position receives a majority of the votes or if there is a tie vote.
School districts that have opted for a spring election schedule hold their annual school board elections on the second Tuesday in May in odd-numbered years and on the date of the preferential primary election in even-numbered years. In presidential election years, the preferential primary election in Arkansas is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. In non-presidential election even-numbered years, the preferential primary election is held four weeks before the third Tuesday in June.
School districts that have opted for a spring election schedule hold their school board general runoff elections if needed four weeks after the second Tuesday in May in odd-numbered years or on the date of the general primary election in even-numbered years. In presidential election years, the general primary election is held four weeks after the preferential primary (the first Tuesday following the first Monday in March). In nonpresidential election even-numbered years, the general primary is held on the third Tuesday in June.
School districts that have opted for a fall election schedule hold their annual school board elections on the second Tuesday in November in odd-numbered years and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
School districts that have opted for a fall election schedule hold school board general runoff elections if needed four weeks after the second Tuesday in November in odd-numbered years or four weeks after the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November on the date of the general runoff election in even-numbered years.
See law: Arkansas Code 6-14-102 and Arkansas Code 6-14-121
Recent or upcoming election dates for school districts that have opted for a spring election schedule
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for school districts that have opted for a spring election schedule. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: March 2, 2026
- General election date: May 19, 2026
- General runoff election date: June 16, 2026
Recent or upcoming election dates for school districts that have opted for a November election schedule
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for school districts that have opted for a November election schedule. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: August 13, 2025
- General election date: November 11, 2025
- General runoff election date: December 9, 2025
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates must file their petitions, affidavits of eligibility, and political practices pledges with the relevant clerk. The filing deadline depends on whether the school district has opted for a Spring or Fall election schedule.
For school districts that have opted for a spring election schedule, the deadline for candidates to file is at 12:00 pm on the eighth day after the first Monday in November of the year prior for elections held in presidential election years and is at 12:00 pm on the second day in March for elections held in nonpresidential election years, including odd-numbered years.
For school districts that have opted for a fall election schedule, the deadline for candidates to file is at 12:00 pm 90 days before the November general election, which is on the second Tuesday in November in odd-numbered years and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November for even-numbered years.
See law: Arkansas Code Section 7-14-111 and Section 7-7-203
School board candidates cannot begin circulating a nomination petition until 90 days before the filing deadline. School board candidates must file their petition, affidavit of eligibility, and the candidate's political practices pledge with the clerk during a one-week period ending on the filing deadline. A nominating petition for a school board candidate must contain 20 signatures from registered voters from the school district for an at-large seat and from the relevant electoral zone if an by-sub-district seat.
For school districts that have opted for a spring election schedule, the period for candidates to file their petitions, affidavits of eligibility, and political practices pledges begins at 12:00 pm on the first Monday in November in the prior year for elections in presidential election years and begins at 12:00 pm a week before March 1 in the year of the election in nonpresidential election years, including odd-numbered years.
For school districts that have opted for a fall election schedule, the one-week period for candidates to file their petitions, affidavits of eligibility, and political practices pledges begins at 12:00 pm 97 days before the November general election.
See law: Arkansas Code Section 7-14-111 and Section 7-7-203 and Arkansas Code Section 7-14-111 and Section 7-7-203
Newly elected school board members must take oath within ten days after receiving notice from the county clerk or the designee of the election.
See law: Arkansas Code 6-13-617
Election system
Types of elections
School board members are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries and general runoff elections if necessary. A general runoff election is held when no candidate for any school district position receives a majority of the votes cast for the office or whenever there is a tie vote.
See law: Arkansas Code 6-14-102 & Arkansas Code 6-14-121
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Arkansas are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Arkansas Statute states that a candidate for a school district board of directors can qualify for the ballot through a petition or a write-in candidate notice. It does not provide for the option to qualify for the ballot as a party nominee. The nomination process by petition that Arkansas Statute allows is for independent candidates "without political party affiliation." Arkansas Statute Section 6-61-520(c) concerning community college boards specifically does state that candidates for "the local board shall run by position and shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis, and there shall be no mark or designation on the ballot indicating the party affiliation of the candidates."
See law:
Arkansas State Statute Section 6-14-111(c), 7-7-103, and 6-61-520(c)
What it takes to win an election
The school board candidate that receives a majority of the votes in the general election is elected to office. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the top two school board candidates with the most votes advance to a general runoff election. The candidate that receives a majority of the votes in the runoff is elected.
See law: Arkansas Code 6-14-121
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
School districts with student enrollment of less than 20,000 can have five or seven board members. School districts with student enrollment of 20,000 or more can have five, seven, or nine board members. As of 2022, 117 districts (50%) had five board members, 113 districts (49%) had seven board members, and two districts had nine board members.
See law: Arkansas Code 6-13-634
Board member term lengths
School districts have school board members that serve terms of three, four, or five years. As of 2022, 187 districts (85%) had board members with five-year terms, 18 districts (8%) had board members with four-year terms, and 15 districts (7%) had board members with three-year terms.
See law: Arkansas Code 6-13-608
School board member election staggering
School districts elect as nearly as possible an equal number of school board members each year. Since term lengths can be three, four, or five years, this means that one-third, one-fourth, or one-fifth of school board members are up for election every year. In any year following school board redistricting based on census results, a school district or sub-district with more than a 10% minority population must have all board members up for election with terms varying in length based on lot in order to then stagger the terms thereafter.
See law: Arkansas Code 6-13-608
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School districts can pass different methods of representation by resolution of the district board and majority voter approval to elect board members by sub-district, at large, or through a combination of the two. As of 2022, 139 districts (60%) had board members elected at-large, 66 districts (28%) had members elected by single member districts, and 28 districts (12%) had members elected through a combination.
See law: Arkansas Code 6-13-630
Recent changes to laws governing school board election dates and timing in Arkansas
In 2022, an Arkansas law went into effect that changed the odd-year date options for school board elections from
- (a) the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November or
- (b) the third Tuesday in May
to
- (a) the second Tuesday in November or
- (b) the second Tuesday in May.[1]
The legislation also affected filing windows and deadlines and the dates of odd-year runoff elections.
How does Arkansas compare to other states?
Across the country, there are 13,187 public school districts governed by a total of 83,183 school board members. They are elected directly by voters except for a small handful of exceptions who are appointed.
The analysis below is based on state laws governing school board elections and some researched common practices. In some states, the state law mandates a specific date. In others, the laws allow districts to choose their own election date from a range or a list of allowed dates or through charter provisions.
- 25 states have school board elections that are mostly held off cycle from federal elections. This includes both off-year and off-date elections.
- 10 of those states have school board elections that are mostly or at least commonly held on election dates in November of odd-numbered years.
- 16 of those states have school board elections mostly or at least commonly held on election dates that are not in November.
- 14 states have school board elections that are mostly held on cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years.
- 9 states either do not have state laws or overwhelmingly common practices that determine a specific school board election date or have varying school board election dates.
- Hawaii has a single, appointed school board.
See also
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School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
Terms and context: |
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Footnotes
