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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Illinois
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| Illinois overview: • Election dates: Off cycle[1] |
| 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 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
There were 852 public school districts in Illinois with a total of 5,967 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 3,976 schools serving 1,925,315 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 Illinois 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 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
Recent or upcoming election dates for the Chicago Public Schools district according to state law that applies to school districts in cities with more than 500,000 residents
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for the Chicago Public Schools district according to state law that applies to school districts in cities with more than 500,000 residents. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- General election date: November 3, 2026
Recent or upcoming election dates for school districts with annual elections under Article 33 (Peoria Public Schools)
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for school districts with annual elections under Article 33 (Peoria Public Schools). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- General election date: March 17, 2026
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
Election system
Types of elections
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
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
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: Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 9-5
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
School districts with more than 1,000 residents but fewer than 500,000 residents have seven-member boards unless the district is governed by a special act or an exception. Districts with fewer than 1,000 residents can have either three board members or seven board members. State law allowed districts with five members as of 1983 to keep five-member boards. As of 2022, 846 districts (99%) had seven-member boards, three districts had five-member boards, one district had a three-member board, and one district had a six-member board.
State law establishes a 21-member board board for Chicago Public Schools, with initial elections of 10 members in 2024 and 11 members in 2026.
See law:
and Illinois Election Code Sec. 2A-1.2 and Illinois School Code Sec. 34-3
Board member term lengths
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
School board member election staggering
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: elections at-large or by sub-districts
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
Recent changes to laws governing school board election dates and timing in Illinois
How does Illinois 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
- ↑ Note: An elected school board is transitioning back into control of the Chicago Public Schools district following years of control by an appointed board. Starting in 2024, Chicago Public Schools voter were set to begin voting for school board members at on-cycle elections in November of even-numbered years.
