Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Virginia
|
| Virginia 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 elections in Virginia must be held at the same time as statewide general elections, which are held on the first Tuesday after the First Monday in November every year. School board elections are held every four years, every two years, or annually on varying schedules. State law allows school boards to be appointed or elected. District voters can change from an appointed school board to an elected school board or from an elected school board to an appointed school board through a petition and referendum process.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1-57.3 and the Virginia School Boards Association
There were 132 public school districts in Virginia with a total of 809 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 2,015 schools serving 1,296,817 students.
Most city and town school board elections in Virginia are held on cycle in even-numbered years, while most county school board elections are held off cycle in odd-numbered years. Virginia is one of five states that hold off-cycle state office general elections in odd-numbered years.
You will find the following information on this page:
- elected vs. appointed school board members
- 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 Virginia 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 elections in Virginia must be held at the same time as statewide general elections, which are held on the first Tuesday after the First Monday in November every year. School board elections are held every four years, every two years, or annually on varying schedules. State law allows school boards to be appointed or elected. District voters can change from an appointed school board to an elected school board or from an elected school board to an appointed school board through a petition and referendum process. As of 2023, the school board members of 119 out of the state's 132 districts were elected, and the members of the remaining 13 boards were appointed. The appointed school boards as of 2023 were Alleghany Highlands Public Schools, Franklin City Public Schools, Galax City Public Schools, Hanover County Public Schools, Hopewell City Public Schools, Lynchburg City Schools, Manassas Park City Schools, Martinsville City Public Schools, Poquoson City Public Schools, Richmond County Public Schools, Roanoke City Public Schools, Salem City Schools, and Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1-57.3 and the Virginia School Boards Association
Most county boards of education have elections in odd-numbered years either every two years or every four years. As of 2022, elections in all but one county — Arlington County — were off-cycle from federal elections. They are held at the same time as the state's odd-year state legislative and gubernatorial elections. There are 91 county school districts in Virginia. The Arlington County School Board holds elections every year.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 15.2
The elections for most city and town school boards are held during even-numbered years and are on-cycle with federal elections. There are several cities that hold school board elections in odd-numbered years or annually. Details of city and town school board elections are largely set in local charters. There are 41 municipal school districts in Virginia.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1-57.3
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: June 17, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates must file declarations of candidacy by 7:00 pm on the third Tuesday in June.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 24.1. Elections
School board candidates cannot circulate nominating petitions until after the first day of January of the year of the election.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 24.1. Elections
Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first day of January following their election.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1. Education
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Virginia are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1. Education and Section 24.1. Elections
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Virginia are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Virginia state law requires that school board candidates qualify for the ballot through the petition process for independent candidates. It does not allow school board candidates to qualify for the ballot as party nominees. This means that all school board candidates in Virginia are listed as independent in the secretary of state's official candidate list. On the ballot, the names of candidates are displayed without any party affiliation or additional disclosure of any kind. There is no route in state law for a school board candidate to be listed on the ballot with a party affiliation.
See law: Virginia Statutes Sections 22.1. Education and 24.1. Elections
What it takes to win an election
School board candidates that receive the largest number of votes in the nonpartisan general election are elected to office.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1. Education and Section 24.1. Elections
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
The number of members of school boards for each district in Virginia depends on the composition of the school board prior to the referendum changing the board from appointed to elected and on the structure of and the number of members of the governing body of the relevant county or city. As of 2022, there were a total of 809 school board member seats across the 132 school districts in Virginia. On average each board had six members ranging from a low of three to a high of 12. Out of the 809 total, 66 districts (50%) had five board members; 40 districts (30%) had seven board members; nine districts (7%) had nine board members; eight districts (6%) had six board members; five districts (4%) had eight board members; and four districts each had three, four, 11, and 12 board members, respectively.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1. Education and Virginia Statutes Section 24.1. Elections
Board member term lengths
The length of school board member terms depends on the terms of the members of the relevant county, city, or town governing body. As of 2022, most school districts (121 or 91.7%) had 4-year school board terms. Ten school districts had 3-year board member terms.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1. Education and Section 24.1. Elections
School board member election staggering
School board seat elections are either not staggered or staggered in a way that depends on the organization of the district and the relevant county, city, or town prior to the referendum establishing elected board members; special act; or local charter. State law has special provisions concerning the staggering of school board elections in Bath, Loudoun, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, and Rockbridge Counties.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1. Education and Section 24.1. Elections
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School members are elected at large, from sub-districts, or through a combination of the two.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1. Education and Section 24.1. Elections
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates must file declarations of candidacy by 7:00 pm on the third Tuesday in June.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 24.1. Elections
School board candidates cannot circulate nominating petitions until after the first day of January of the year of the election.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 24.1. Elections
Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first day of January following their election.
See law: Virginia Statutes Section 22.1. Education
Appointed vs elected school boards in Virginia
As of 2023, the school board members of 119 out of the state's 132 districts were elected, and the members of the remaining 13 boards were appointed. The appointed school boards as of 2023 were Alleghany Highlands Public Schools, Franklin City Public Schools, Galax City Public Schools, Hanover County Public Schools, Hopewell City Public Schools, Lynchburg City Schools, Manassas Park City Schools, Martinsville City Public Schools, Poquoson City Public Schools, Richmond County Public Schools, Roanoke City Public Schools, Salem City Schools, and Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools.[1]
Before 1992, all school boards in Virginia were appointed either by a school board selection commission or by the governing body of the relevant county or city. In 1992, the legislature passed and the governor signed a bill allowing residents to petition for a referendum to change the school board from appointed to elected, making Virginia the last state to allow elected school boards. The same petition process can be used to put a referendum on the ballot to revert back to appointed board members.[1][2]
School districts that passed referendums for direct election of school board members in 2022
The school board members of 119 out of the state's 132 districts are elected, and the members of the remaining 13 boards are appointed. Voters in the following four school districts approved referendums during the November 2022 election to transition from an appointed board to an elected board:[1]
- Alleghany County School District
- Covington City School District
- Lexington City School District
- Southhampton County School District
Recent changes to laws governing school board election dates and timing in Virginia
In 2021, the Virginia Legislature passed and Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed Senate Bill 1157. Starting on January 1, 2022, SB 1157 required all municipal and school board elections to be held at the same time as statewide general elections, which are held on Tuesday after the First Monday in November every year. This eliminated the previously allowed first Tuesday in May election date for cities, towns, and municipal school district boards.[3]
The Senate voted 19-19 on SB 1157, and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) acted as tiebreaker in favor of the bill. The House voted 50-44 on SB 1157.[3]
In the Senate, 18 Democrats and one Republican were in favor of SB 1157, and two Democrats and 17 Republicans were opposed. In the House, one Republican and 49 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, and the remaining 44 Republicans voted against it.[3]
How does Virginia 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.
Virginia is one of five states that hold state office general elections during odd-numbered years: Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia.
See also
|
School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
Terms and context: |
| |||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Virginia Department of Elections, "2022 November General Official Results," accessed May 30, 2023
- ↑ ACLU of Virginia, "Why we have -- and should have -- elected school boards in Virginia," October 15, 2009
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Virginia Legislature, "Senate Bill 1157 (2021)," accessed December 9, 2022
