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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Minnesota
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| Minnesota overview: • Election dates: Varies |
| 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 for all districts in Minnesota are held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in either even-numbered years or odd-numbered years. According to the Minnesota School Board Association, 90% of districts held even-year elections as of 2022.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A and Minnesota School Board Association: The Importance of School Board Elections
This means that 90% of districts hold on-cycle elections, while the other 10% hold off-cycle elections in odd-numbered years.
There were 327 public school districts in Minnesota with a total of 2,145 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 2,010 schools serving 820,781 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 Minnesota 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 for all districts in Minnesota are held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in either even-numbered years or odd-numbered years. According to the Minnesota School Board Association, 90% of districts held even-year elections as of 2022.
In districts not holding a school board nonpartisan primary, all school board candidates appear on the ballot for the general election held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in either even-numbered years or odd-numbered years.
In school districts in which the boards pass resolutions to hold primary elections, school board nonpartisan primary elections are held on the second Tuesday in August every two years in either odd-numbered years or even-numbered years. School boards must pass resolutions to hold primary elections before April 15 in any year. A primary is only held if more than two candidates are running for a single-seat race or if the number of candidates running for multi-seat races is more than twice the number of open seats.
In districts holding a school board nonpartisan primary, the top two candidates per seat that receive the most votes advance to the general election held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in either even-numbered years or odd-numbered years.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A and Minnesota School Board Association: The Importance of School Board Elections and Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A and Minnesota School Board Association: The Importance of School Board Elections and Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A
Recent or upcoming election dates for school districts not holding a school board primary election
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for school districts not holding a school board primary election. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: August 13, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Recent or upcoming election dates for school districts holding a school board nonpartisan primary election
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for school districts holding a school board nonpartisan primary election. 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 3, 2025
- Primary election date: August 12, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
In districts not holding school board primary elections, the deadline for school board candidates to file affidavits of candidacy is 84 days before the November school board general election.
In districts holding school board primary elections, the deadline for school board candidates to file affidavits of candidacy is 70 days before the August primary election.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A
In districts not holding school board primary elections, school board candidates cannot file affidavits of candidacy until 98 days before the November school board general election.
In districts holding school board primary elections, school board candidates cannot file affidavits of candidacy until 84 days before the August primary election.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A and Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A
School board member terms expire and the terms of newly elected school board members officially begin on the first Monday of January following the election.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Minnesota are elected through either a nonpartisan general election without a primary or through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election, depending on whether or not the school board passed a resolution to hold a primary election.
If a school board does not pass a resolution to hold a primary election, school board members are elected through a nonpartisan general election without a primary for that cycle.
If a school board passes a resolution to hold a primary election, school board members are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election for that cycle. School boards must pass resolutions to hold primary elections before April 15 in any year. A primary election is only held if a large enough number of candidates run for office.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Minnesota are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Minnesota Statute requires election clerks to "place the name of the [school board] candidate on the official ballot without partisan designation."
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A
What it takes to win an election
If a school board passed a resolution to hold a primary for that cycle and enough candidates are running to require a primary election, the candidates with the most votes in the nonpartisan primary advance to the general election. A primary is only held if more than two candidates are running for a single-seat race or if the number of candidates running for multi-seat races is more than twice the number of open seats. In single-seat races, two candidates advance to the general election. In multi-seat races, twice as many candidates as open seats advance to the general election.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A and Minnesota School Board Association: The Importance of School Board Elections
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
All public school districts except Minneapolis Public Schools and Cook County Independent School District 166 have either six or seven board members. The default is six, but the board can submit a question to increase the number of board members to seven, and if a majority of voters approve it, the board continues with seven board members unless voters reduce the number to six through the same process. Specific sections of state statute required a nine-member board for Minneapolis Public Schools and a five-member board for Cook County Independent School District 166. As of 2022, 144 districts (44%) had six board members, and 181 districts (55%) had seven board members.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B, Chapter 128, and Chapter 128D
Board member term lengths
School board members have four-year terms.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A
School board member election staggering
School board elections are staggered so that as close to half of a district's school board members as possible are up for election every two years.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School board members are elected at large, by sub-district, or through a combination of at large and by sub-district. The school boards of all school districts except those located within the four first-class cities in the state can put a question on the ballot for voter approval proposing the creation of or change to election districts (sub-districts). The proposal can include any combination of single-member districts, multi-member districts, and at-large seats. State law requires Minneapolis Public Schools to have six board members elected by sub-district and three members elected at large. As of 2022, 314 districts (96%) had board members all elected at large, nine districts (3%) had board members all elected from sub-districts, and five districts (2%) had board members elected through a combination of at large and by sub-district.
See law:
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B, Chapter 128, and Chapter 128D
How does Minnesota 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
