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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Indiana
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| Indiana overview: • Election dates: On 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 Indiana are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law: Indiana Code Sections 20-23-4-29.1, 20-23-7-8.1, and 20-23-13-2.1
There were 291 public school districts in Indiana with a total of 1,692 school board member seats as of 2023. Those school districts operated a total of 1,769 schools serving 997,869 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 Indiana 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 2023. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates, corrections, exceptions, or improvements.
Election dates and frequency
School board general elections in Indiana are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law: Indiana Code Sections 20-23-4-29.1, 20-23-7-8.1, and 20-23-13-2.1
Recent or upcoming election dates for school districts with elected board members
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for school districts with elected board members. 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 15, 2026
- General election date: November 3, 2026
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
The deadline for school board candidates to file petitions of nomination and registration is 30 days after the first day to register to vote following the May primary election, which means the filing deadline is 44 days after the primary election. This means the school board candidate filing deadline is in mid-June of even-numbered years.
See law: Indiana Code Section 3-8-2.5-4
School board candidates in Indiana cannot file petitions of nomination for the November general election until the first day one can register to vote following the May primary election. This date is 14 days after the primary election. This means the 30-day filing window for school board candidates opens in mid-May of even-numbered years.
See law: Indiana Code Section 3-8-2.5-4
The terms of school board members officially begin on the date set in the school districts organization plan. State law prohibits a school district organization plan from setting a term start date more than fourteen months after the election. However, if a different date is not provided in the plan, then the default start date of the terms of newly elected board members is January 1 following their election.
See law: Indiana Code Section 20-23-4-30
Election system
Types of elections
Elected school board members in Indiana are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries. As of 2022, 10 districts had appointed board members and six districts had school boards with some elected members and some appointed members. The other districts had boards with elected members.
See law: Indiana Code Sections 20-23-4-29.1, 20-23-7-8.1, and 20-23-13-2.1
Party labels on the ballot
A school board candidate nomination petition must contain one of the following: (a) the candidate's political party affiliation, (b) identification as an independent candidate, (c) a statement that the candidate elects not to disclose party affiliation, (d) or that the candidate is not affiliated with a part and doesn't want to be identified as independent. This statement regarding party affiliation must be included on the ballot along with the candidate's name. To validly claim affiliation with a major political party, a candidate must either (a) have voted in the two most recent party primaries for the identified political party or (b) have the affiliation certified by the party's county chairman. Senate Bill 287 enacted in 2025 changed Indiana school board elections from nonpartisan without party labels to partisan with party labels. SB 287 allows challenges to a candidate's claimed party affiliation.
See law: Senate Bill 275 (2025)
What it takes to win an election
The school board candidates that receive the largest number of votes in the nonpartisan general election are elected to office.
See law: Indiana Code Sections 20-23-4-29.1, 20-23-7-8.1, and 20-23-13-2.1
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
State law provides for organization plans with school boards containing three, five, seven, or nine members. However, state law also allows other organization plans. As of 2022, 169 districts (58%) had five members, 116 districts (40%) had seven members, two districts had nine members, one district had four members, one district had six members, and one district had three members.
See law: Indiana Code Sections 20-23-4-29.1, 20-23-7-8.1, and 20-23-13-2.1
Board member term lengths
School board members are elected to four-year terms at regular elections.
See law: Indiana Code Section 20-23-4-30
School board member election staggering
As close to half of a district's school board members as possible are elected every two years. Since school boards in Indiana have 3, 5, 7, or 9 members, this means that in one cycle a simple majority of seats are up for election, while in the following cycle one less than a simple majority of seats are up for election. At a district's first school board election, the simple majority of elected board members that receive the most votes are elected to four-year terms, while the remaining elected board members are elected to two-year terms. Thereafter, all school board members are elected to four-year terms.
See law: Indiana Code Section 20-23-4-30
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
In Indiana, school board members are elected at large, by sub-district, or through a combination of the two. Districts can also elect certain member positions at large but from certain sub-districts, meaning the candidates must be residents of a particular area. State law provides six different options for school board election plans to school districts formed after March 12, 1965. Districts formed before that date operate under the plan with which they were established. The six options provided for in statute provide varying levels of flexibility for a district's specific plan. They are as follows. (1) At-large voting without residence restriction; under this option, all members are elected at large by all voters and can reside anywhere in the district. (2) At-large voting with residence restriction for at least some members; under this option, the district must have two or more residence areas (sub-districts) with some combination of one or more board members residing in each district and the option of an at large member without residence restriction. All registered voters still vote for all members whether or not they need to reside within a specific sub-district. (3) At-large voting with residence restriction for three members; under this option, a district's plan must have three residence areas (sub-districts) roughly equal in population. If the board has three members, one must reside in each sub-district. If the board has five members, two members may not reside in any one sub-district. If the board has seven members, at least two members must reside in each sub-district. All registered voters still vote for all members. (4) Combination of at-large and from sub-district with less than a majority at-large; under this option, a district's plan can divide the district into at least two electoral sub-districts and determine how many members are elected only by the voters within those subdistricts provided each sub-district has an equal number of members. This option requires that "not less than one less than a majority" of members are elected at large (i.e., for a three-member board, at least one must be at large; for a five-member board, at least two must be at large; and for a seven-member board, at least three must be at large.) (5) Combination of at-large and from sub-district with a majority of members at-large; this option is similar to option four but a majority of members must be elected at large and sub-districts do not have to have equal numbers of members. (6) Election entirely by sub-district; under this option, a district plan must establish sub-districts from which all board members are elected. There are no at-large members. It allows for unequal numbers of members from the districts.
See law: Indiana Code Section 20-23-4-27
Recent changes to laws governing school board election dates and timing in Indiana
2023 filing period change
In 2023, the Indiana State Legislature approved and Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed Senate Bill 177 moving the start of the 30-day filing period for school board candidates to earlier in the year from 104 days before the election (late-July) to 14 days after the May primary election.[1]
How does Indiana 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: |
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Footnotes
