Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Kansas
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| Kansas 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 nonpartisan primary elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in August every two years in odd-numbered years.
School board general elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021
There were 286 public school districts in Kansas with a total of 1,998 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 1,304 schools serving 497,708 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
- changes to laws governing school board election dates and timing in Kansas;
- how Kansas 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 nonpartisan primary elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in August every two years in odd-numbered years. Primary elections are only held if more than three candidates run for one seat in a single-seat race or if the number of candidates for a multi-seat race is more than three times the number of open seats. If three or fewer candidates run for a school board seat, the primary is canceled and the candidates automatically advance to the general election.
School board general elections in Kansas are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021
Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts except Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207)
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts except Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207). 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 2, 2025
- Primary election date: August 5, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
The filing deadline for school board candidates is 12 p.m. on June 1 of the election year or the following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-205
Newly elected school board members take office on the second Monday in January following the election.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2023
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Kansas are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. The primary election is only held if a large enough number of candidates run for office.
School board members for the Fort Leavenworth School District (USD 207) are appointed by the commanding general of Fort Leavenworth. The Fort Leavenworth School District is located entirely within the Fort Leavenworth military base.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2006 and Kansas Statutes Section 72-533b
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Kansas are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Kansas Statute Section 25-2009 states, "School elections shall be nonpartisan and laws applicable only to partisan elections shall not apply in such elections."
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2009
What it takes to win an election
The school board candidate or candidates that receive the most votes in the general election are elected to office.
Primary elections are only held if more than three candidates run for one seat in a single-seat race or if the number of candidates for a multi-seat race is more than three times the number of open seats. If three or fewer candidates run for a school board seat, the primary is canceled and the candidates automatically advance to the general election. If there is a primary election, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election for single-seat races, and the number of candidates with the most votes equal to twice the number of seats up for election advance to the general election for multi-seat races. In the general election, the candidate or candidates that receive the most votes are elected.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
Elected school district boards can have seven members.
See law: Kansas Statute Section 25-2004
Kansas Statute Section 25-2005
Board member term lengths
School board members are elected to four-year terms.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2021
School board member election staggering
As close to an equal number of school board members as possible are up for regular election every odd-numbered year. This means three board member seats are up for election in one odd-numbered year and four seats are up for election in the following odd-numbered year for districts with the statute-set seven board members.
See law: Kansas Statutes Section 25-2018
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School board members are elected either at large or through a combination of at large and by sub-district, depending on the voting plan of the district. School boards choose a voting plan for each election from the following three options: (a) entirely at large in both the primary election and the general election, (b) through a sub-district method in the primary election and at large in the general election, or (c) through a sub-district method in both the primary election and general election. If using a sub-district method, the school district can have six sub-districts, three sub-districts, or two sub-districts. Each sub-district method requires one member elected at large. For the method with six sub-districts, one member is elected from each sub-district. For the method with three sub-districts, two members are elected from each sub-district. For the method with two sub-districts, three members are elected from each sub-district. As of 2022, 190 school districts (66%) elected all of their board members at large, and 96 school districts (34%) used one of the methods involving one at-large member and six members elected from six, three, or two sub-districts.
See law: Kansas Statute Section 25-2004
Kansas Statute Section 25-2005
Changes to laws governing school board election dates and timing in Kansas
In 2015, the Kansas Legislature passed a bill effective in 2017 that moved municipal elections from the Spring of odd-numbered years to the fall of odd-numbered years.[1]
How does Kansas 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
