School Boards

Read more about the local officials who work with the district superintendent to run their school district
A wide-angle lens photo shows people sitting in rows of seats in a full school board meeting room. School board members sit behind a long desk that faces the audience.
An overflow crowd attends a Temecula Valley Unified School District board meeting in Temecula, Calif. on July 18, 2023. School board meetings have been a locus of political drama in recent years.
Will Lester/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG via TNS
School & District Management School Boards Are Struggling. Could a New Research Effort Help?
A new center will explore how school boards function and how they can improve relationships with the public.
Evie Blad, August 16, 2024
3 min read
A statue of confederate general Stonewall Jackson is removed on July 1, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Shenandoah County, Virginia's school board voted 5-1 early Friday, May 10, 2024, to rename Mountain View High School as Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary as Ashby Lee Elementary four years after the names had been removed.
A statue of confederate general Stonewall Jackson is removed on July 1, 2020, in Richmond, Va. The Shenandoah County, Va. school board voted 5-1 on May 10, 2024, to restore the names of Confederate leaders and soldiers to two schools, four years after the names had been removed.
Steve Helber/AP
Equity & Diversity A School Board Reinstated Confederate School Names. Could It Happen Elsewhere?
Shenandoah County's school board voted in May to reinstate two Confederate names. Researchers wonder if others will, too.
Brooke Schultz, June 6, 2024
7 min read
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Law & Courts When Blocking Social Media Critics, School Officials Have Protections, Supreme Court Says
The court said public officials' own pages may be "state action," but only when they are exercising government authority.
Mark Walsh, March 15, 2024
6 min read
High school student Leo Burchell speaks at the Central Bucks School Board meeting about LGBTQ student rights in Doylestown, Pa., on Nov. 15, 2022. After hearing a man tell the school board that transgender people posed a risk of violence in bathrooms, Leo expected another adult in the room to interrupt what felt like hate speech. No one did. So at the next board meeting, Leo spoke up. “Attacking students based on who they are or who they love is wrong,” he said. Leo has spoken regularly at meetings since.
High school student Leo Burchell speaks at the Central Bucks School Board meeting about LGBTQ student rights in Doylestown, Pa., on Nov. 15, 2022. A student-led effort to create a "safe space" for students at a Lynchburg, Va., school was recently rejected by the school board.
Ryan Collerd/AP
Student Well-Being A High School LGBTQ+ Student Group Won a Grant. Then the School Board Vetoed It
Advocates said the board's vote was a setback for "student voice" efforts—as well as for LGBQT+ students.
Elizabeth Heubeck, December 15, 2023
6 min read
Karen Smith, the new president of the Central Bucks County, Penn., school board, took her oath on a stack of contested library books at a Dec. 4, 2023 meeting.
Karen Smith, the new president of the Central Bucks County, Pa., school board, took her oath on a stack of contested library books at a Dec. 4, 2023 meeting.
Courtesy of Kimberly Cambra
School & District Management This School Board President Took Her Oath on a Stack of Contested Books. Here's Why
The school board for Central Bucks County, Pa., has been at the center of divisive political debates.
Evie Blad, December 11, 2023
8 min read
Two professional adults, with a money symbol.
sankai/iStock/Getty
School & District Management 13 States Bar School Board Members From Getting Paid. Here's Where It's Allowed (Map)
There are more calls to increase school board members' pay, or to allow them to be paid at all.
Caitlynn Peetz & Maya Riser-Kositsky, November 29, 2023
2 min read
Illustration concept of hiring choices showing a scale with professionals on one end and a dollar sign on the other side.
Feodora Chiosea/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Should School Boards Go Local or Look Afar for the Next Superintendent? That Depends
Rising turnover at the top is forcing more school districts to undertake the daunting task of finding a new superintendent.
Caitlynn Peetz, November 22, 2023
5 min read
Image of a board room.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week (Images: DigitalVision Vectors; E+; iStock/Getty)
School & District Management Student School Board Members Want More Meaningful Roles. Here's How They're Working For Them
Student school board members take steps to meaningfully work with adults—starting by educating themselves.
Evie Blad, November 20, 2023
3 min read
Mat-Su school board student representative Ben Kolendo listens to public testimony during the school board meeting in Palmer on Sept. 6, 2023.
Matanuska-Susitna<ins data-user-label="Stephen Sawchuk" data-time="11/14/2023 3:05:14 PM" data-user-id="00000175-2524-d387-a175-673d43580000" data-target-id=""> Borough</ins> school board student representative Ben Kolendo listens to public testimony during a meeting in Palmer, Alaska on Sept. 6, 2023.
Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News
School & District Management Student School Board Members Want a Seat at the Table, Not Just a Pat on the Back
Former student school board members have formed an organization to support peers who serve in the tricky role.
Evie Blad, November 15, 2023
7 min read
Image of a dollar sign being pushed up by a red arrow.
DigitalVision Vectors
School & District Management Should School Board Members Be Paid? More Districts Are Trying It Out
Some school boards are trying to attract more diverse candidate slates. But it's still unknown whether paying members helps.
Caitlynn Peetz, November 14, 2023
6 min read
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during an election night rally after he was elected to a second term in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 7, 2023. At right is his wife Britainy Beshear.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during an election night rally after he was elected to a second term in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 7, 2023. At right is his wife Britainy Beshear.
Timothy D. Easley/AP
States Liberals Win Hotly Contested School Board Races in Backlash to Conservative Control
A Democrat who championed teacher pay raises was also reelected Kentucky's governor and Democrats won legislative majorities in Virginia.
Libby Stanford, November 8, 2023
6 min read
A voter, left, carries her ballot to the counting machine after voting at a polling station on Nov. 7, 2023, in Richmond, Va.
A voter, left, carries her ballot to the counting machine after voting at a polling station on Nov. 7, 2023, in Richmond, Va. A new study explores what happens with student achievement, local charter schools, and teacher pay when educators win school board seats.
Steve Helber/AP
School & District Management What Happens When Educators Win School Board Seats, According to New Research
A new study explores what happens with student achievement, local charter schools, and teacher pay when educators win school board seats.
Caitlynn Peetz, November 7, 2023
5 min read
The sun rises behind the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 10, 2020.
The sun rises behind the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 10, 2020.
Alex Brandon/AP
Law & Courts What the Supreme Court Had to Say About School Board Members Blocking Constituents
The justices take up a case involving school board members who blocked some constituents from posting comments on public social media pages.
Mark Walsh, October 31, 2023
7 min read
The setting sun illuminates the Supreme Court building in Washington on Jan. 10, 2023.
The setting sun illuminates the Supreme Court building in Washington on Jan. 10, 2023.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Law & Courts School Board Members' Use of Social Media Faces Key First Amendment Test in Supreme Court
The justices will decide whether school board members engaged in government action when they blocked parents who posted repetitive comments.
Mark Walsh, October 24, 2023
9 min read