Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Delaware
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| Delaware overview: • Election dates: Off cycle |
| 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 |
School board general elections in Delaware are held on the second Tuesday in May every year.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1072
There were 19 public school districts in Delaware with a total of 118 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 202 schools serving 123,566 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 Delaware 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
School board general elections in Delaware are held on the second Tuesday in May every year.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1072
Recent or upcoming election dates for all regular public school districts in the state
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all regular public school districts in the state. 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 6, 2026
- General election date: May 12, 2026
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates must file notices of candidacy by 4:30 pm on the first Friday in March before the election.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1075
Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first day of July following their election.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1052, 1066, 1068, and 1069
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Delaware are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries. In the case of a tie vote, another election must be held on the third Saturday in June following the May general election.
Members of the board of education for vocational-technical school districts in Delaware are appointed by the governor not elected.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1072
and Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1051
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Delaware are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Delaware Statute states, "For the election of school board members, the names of all filed candidates shall be listed alphabetically without political party designation."
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1076
What it takes to win an election
The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1083
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
By default, public school districts with elected boards of education have five board members. State statute establishes seven-member boards for seven specific districts and a 10-member board for one district.
Voacational-Technical school districts have seven-member boards of education that are appointed rather than elected.
Statute establishes a 10-member board of education for Indian River School District.
Statute establishes seven-member boards of education for Brandywine, Christina, Colonial, Red Clay, Cape Henlopen, and Milford districts.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1052, 1066, 1068, and 1069
and Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1051
and Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1068
and Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066 and 1069
Board member term lengths
School board members in Delaware are elected to four-year terms. A 2021 bill changed the length of school board terms from five years to four years starting with 2022 elections and going forward. The 2021 bill changing school board term lengths from five years to four years was designed to allow the completion of five-year terms that had already begun.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066, 1068, and 1069
School board member election staggering
School districts elect as nearly as possible an equal number of school board members each year. School districts with five board members elect two members in one out of every four years and one member in the other three years. Beginning in 2021, school board terms are four years long. A 2021 bill changed the term length for a number of districts from five years to four years, requiring in some cases adjustments in which and how many seats are up for election in a given year.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1052, 1066, 1068, and 1069
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
By default, the board members of school districts in Delaware are elected at large by all voters in the district. However, state law provides specifically for five districts to elect school board members by sub-district and two districts to elect school board members through a combination of at-large and by-subdistrict seats.
The board members of Cape Henlopen School District and Milford School School District are elected through a combination of four seats by sub-district and three seats at large.
The board members of Brandywine School District, Christina School District, Colonial School District, and Red Clay School District are elected one each from seven different sub-districts. The board members of Indian River School District are elected two each from five different sub-districts.
See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066, 1068, and 1069
and Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1069
and Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066 and 1068
Recent changes to laws governing school board election dates and timing in Delaware
In 2021, the Delaware General Assembly passed and Gov. John Carney Jr. (D) signed House Bill 92. HB 92 changed the length of school board member terms from five years to four years beginning with elections in 2022. This also changed how school board elections were staggered for different seats. Most school districts in Delaware have five board members. For those districts, this change meant that instead of one member being elected every year to a five-year term districts would elect two members in one out of every four years and one member in the other three years.[1]
How does Delaware 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
