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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Washington
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| Washington 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 Washington are held on the first Tuesday in August every two years in odd-numbered years.
School board general elections in Washington are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.52.220 and RCW 29A.04.311 and Washington Statute RCW 29A.04.330
There were 297 public school districts in Washington with a total of 1,497 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 2,466 schools serving 1,136,455 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 Washington 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 Washington are held on the first Tuesday in August every two years in odd-numbered years. School board primary elections are only held if more than two candidates file to run for a school board member seat. If only two candidates run, the primary is canceled and both candidates advance to the general election.
School board general elections in Washington are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.52.220 and RCW 29A.04.311 and Washington Statute RCW 29A.04.330
Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: May 16, 2025
- Primary election date: August 5, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
The school board candidate filing deadline is on the Friday following the Monday that is two weeks before Memorial Day. This means the filing deadline is 74 days before the August primary and 172 days before the November general election.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.24.050
School board candidates cannot submit declarations of candidacy until the filling window opens on Monday two weeks before Memorial Day. This means the filing window opens 78 days before the August primary and 176 days before the November general election.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.24.050
Newly elected school board members officially take office at the first board of directors meeting taking place after the results of the election have been certified.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 28A.343.360
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Washington are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. School board primary elections are only held if more than two candidates file to run for a school board member seat. If only two candidates run, the primary is canceled and both candidates advance to the general election.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.52.220 and RCW 29A.52.210
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Washington are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Washington statute specifies partisan and nonpartisan offices. Washington has a top-two primary system, which means all candidates appear on the same primary ballot regardless of party affiliation. The top-two candidates advance to the general. For partisan races, candidates can but do not have to express a preference for a political party. If they do, the ballot specifies their party preference. For nonpartisan races, candidates cannot express a party preference. RCW 28A.343.330 states that, "the positions of school directors and the candidates therefor shall appear separately on the nonpartisan ballot."
See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.52.210 and RCW 28A.343.330
What it takes to win an election
The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.
The top two school board candidates with the most votes in the nonpartisan primary advance to the general election. If only two candidates file for the primary election, the primary will be canceled and they will automatically advance to the general election. School board primary elections are only held if more than two candidates file to run for a school board member seat.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 28A.343.010 and Washington Statute RCW 29A.04.127
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
School districts must have a board of directors of five members, except for a school district that is classified as a first class district having within its boundaries a city with a population of four hundred thousand people or more which will have a board of directors of seven members. As of 2022, only Seattle School District has seven school board members.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 28A.343.300
Board member term lengths
Elected school board members in Washington have four-year terms, except for school districts classified as first-class school districts containing a city of the first-class in a county with a population of two hundred ten thousand or more, can have their board of directors serving six-year terms. As of 2022, only Spokane, Tacoma, and Everett School Districts serve 6-year terms.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 28A.343.300 and RCW 29A.04.340
School board member election staggering
Washington school districts have staggered elections based on the rule that not more than a majority of board members can be elected at any election. This means that for all districts with four-year board member terms, as close to half of board members as possible are elected every two years. Four years is the default board member term length. As of 2022, Spokane, Tacoma, and Everett school district board members serve six-year terms with as close to one-third of board members up for election every two years.
See law: Washington Statute RCW 28A.343.300 and 28A.343.600
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School board members are elected at large, by district, or through a combination of the two, depending on the classification of the school district. Any school district in the state that has a student enrollment in its public schools of two thousand pupils or more is a school district of the first class. Any other school district is a school district of the second class.
Most school districts classified as First Class Districts can elect their school board members either entirely at large or entirely by sub-districts.
School districts classified as Second Class Districts must elect their school board members either at large or by director districts (sub-district). Districts opting for a combination of board members elected by sub-district and at large generally must have three members elected from sub-districts and two members elected at large.
See law: Washington Statute 28A.343.020, 28A.343.680, and 28A.300.065 and Washington Statute 28A.343.020 and 28A.343.680 and Washington Statute 28A.343.680
How does Washington 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
