Election dates and frequency
School board primary elections in Pennsylvania are held on the third Tuesday of May every two years in odd-numbered years.
School board general elections in Pennsylvania are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.
See law: State Statute 1937 Act 320
Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state except the Philadelphia School District
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state except the Philadelphia School District. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: March 11, 2025
- Primary election date: May 20, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Election system
Elected school board members in Pennsylvania are elected through a system of a partisan primary election and a partisan general election. As of 2022, all school boards except the board of the Philadelphia School District had elected school board members. The nine members of the Philadelphia School District Board of Education are appointed by the Philadelphia Mayor and confirmed by the city council.
See law: State Statute 1937 Act 320
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Pennsylvania are partisan, which means political party labels do appear on the ballot for school board candidates. School board candidates are nominated in closed partisan primary elections to appear on the general election ballot. Pennsylvania has closed primaries, which means that voters have to be affiliated with a political party in order to participate in primary elections. State statute allows school board candidates, among candidates for other offices, to file for nomination by multiple political parties. This practice, which is known as cross-filing, allows candidates to appear on both the Democratic primary election ballot and the Republican primary election ballot.
See law: State Statute 1937 Act 320
Winning an election
The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.
The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in a closed party primary is the nominee for that party and advances to the general election ballot.
See law: Pennsylvania Statute 1937 Act 320 and Pennsylvania Statute 1937 Act 320
Term length and staggering
Elected school board members in Pennsylvania have four-year terms. State law provides for six-year terms for the members of a reorganized First Class A district containing former districts of lower classes. As of 2022, all school districts in the state had board members with four-year terms.
See law: Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III
As close to half of school board members as possible are elected every two years.
See law: Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III
Representation: at large vs. by sub-district
School board members are elected at large, by sub-district, or through a combination of the two, depending on the class of the district and whether or not a district has established a plan to elect board members from regions (sub-districts).
School districts classified as school districts of the second, third, or fourth classes can elect their school board members at large, by sub-district, or a combination of both.
Schools districts classified as First Class and First Class A School Districts must elect their school board members by sub-district.
See law: Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III, Section 303
and Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III, Section 303(b)
and Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III, Section 303(a)
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
The deadline for independent and minor party candidates to file nomination papers to qualify for the general election ballot is August 1. Although Pennsylvania Statute states that independent and minor party candidates must file nomination papers on or before the second Friday after the primary election, the state moved the filing deadline to August 1 each year following two consent decrees in Hall v. Davis and Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania v. Davis.
Candidates running in the primary must file nomination petitions by the tenth Tuesday before the primary election held on the third Tuesday in May in odd-numbered years. This filing deadline is in early March.
See law: Pennsylvania Bureau of Elections Calendar;Nomination Paper Instruction Sheet;Hall v. Davis, 84-cv-1057 (E.D. Pa.); and Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania v. Davis, 84-cv-0262 (M.D. Pa.) and Pennsylvania Election Code, Act No. 320 of 1937, Article IX
Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first Monday in December according to state law.
See law: Pennsylvania Election Code, Act No. 320 of 1937, Article IX
