Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Idaho
|
| Idaho 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 Idaho are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years for all districts with elections governed by state law rather than a district-specific charter.
Boise School District board general elections are held on the first Tuesday of September in even-numbered years.
See law: Idaho Statute Section 33-503
and Boise School District Charter Policy 1122
There were 115 public school districts in Idaho with a total of 570 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 703 schools serving 289,262 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
- how Idaho 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 Idaho are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years for all districts with elections governed by state law rather than a district-specific charter. As of 2022, Boise School district was the only district holding elections on a schedule dictated by its charter on a different date than the date provided by state law.
Boise School District board general elections are held on the first Tuesday of September in even-numbered years. The charter of the Boise School District was established in 1881, and, according to the secretary of state, the Boise School District is exempt from state law in cases of conflict with the charter.
See law: Idaho Statute Section 33-503
and Boise School District Charter Policy 1122
Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state except the Boise School District
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state except the Boise School District. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: September 5, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Recent or upcoming election dates for the Boise School District, according to its district-specific charter enacted in 1881 and, per the secretary of state, exempt from state law in the case of conflict with the charter
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for the Boise School District, according to its district-specific charter enacted in 1881 and, per the secretary of state, exempt from state law in the case of conflict with the charter. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: July 3, 2026
- General election date: September 1, 2026
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates in Idaho must file nomination petitions by 5:00 p.m. on the ninth Friday before the election, which means the filing deadline is in early September 60 days before the November odd-year election for all school districts except the Boise School District. Nominating petitions require signatures from five electors in the district.
Candidates for the Boise School District Board of Trustees must file nomination petitions by 5:00 p.m. on the ninth Friday before the September election, which means the filing deadline is in early July 60 days before the even-year election.
See law: Idaho State Statue 34-1404
State statute does not establish a date upon which school board candidates can begin to file nomination petitions or start to collect the required five signatures.
See law: Idaho State Statue 34-1404
Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first day of January following their election according to statute.
See law: Idaho State Statue 33-501
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Idaho are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.
See law: Idaho Statute Section 33-503
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Idaho are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Idaho Statute establishes that school board candidates qualify for the ballot according to the nonpartisan candidate nominating petition process, not through a primary election or political party nomination process. Idaho Statute states that school board candidate nomination petitions, "shall bear the name of the candidate, state the term for which declaration of candidacy is made, and bear the signature of not less than five (5) school district electors" and does not provide for party affiliation information.
See law: Idaho Statute Section 33-501
What it takes to win an election
The school board candidates that receive the largest number of votes in the general election are elected to office.
See law: Idaho Statute Section 33-503 and Boise School District Charter Policy 1120
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
School districts other than elementary school districts must have at least five and no more than nine school board members. The default is five board members. The board of a school district that consolidated on or after January 2008 must have five members if two districts consolidated or seven members if three or more districts consolidated. As of 2022, 106 school districts had five school board members, and four school districts had seven school board members. There were six elementary school districts that had three board members.
Elementary school districts must have three school board members. As of 2022, there were six school districts classified as elementary school districts in Idaho.
See law: Idaho State Statue 33-501
Board member term lengths
School board members have four-year terms for all districts except the Boise School District.
The Boise School District board members serve six-year terms.
See law: Idaho State Statue 33-501 and Boise School District Charter.3
School board member election staggering
As close to half of school board members as possible are elected every two years for all school districts except for the Boise School District
Boise School District holds elections for as close to one-third as possible of the school board members every two years.
See law: Idaho State Statute 33-505 and Boise School District Trustee Election Information
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School districts in Idaho elect board members by trustee zones (sub-districts) unless they are one of the four districts as of 2022 that were governed by charter rather than statute or that had fewer than 140 registered voters and requested to hold at large elections. School board members must be electors of their district and must reside in the trustee zone they are seeking to represent. Voters within each trustee zone vote for their representative board members. The remaining school board members can appoint a member to fill a vacancy from the district at large if they are unable to appoint a trustee from the correct trustee zone after 90 days.
School districts in Idaho with board member elections governed at least partially by local charter rather than statute can elect school board members at large by voters from the entire district instead of by trustee areas. Districts with fewer than 140 registered voters can also request to have at-large elections as well, according to statute. As of 2022, four districts elected board members at large rather than by trustee areas: Boise School District, Emmett Independent School District, Lewiston Independent School District No. 1, and Three Creek School District #416.
See law: Idaho State Statue 33-501, Boise School District Trustee Election Information, and Idaho State Statutes 34-1414 and Idaho State Statue 33-501, Boise School District Trustee Election Information, and Idaho State Statutes 34-1414
How does Idaho 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
|
School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
Terms and context: |
| |||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Footnotes
