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About Running For School Board Table of Contents
Click on the title to navigate to a section or toggle to access related resources.
Visit https://ballotpedia.org/Rules_governing_school_board_election_dates_and_timing_in_Florida to learn about:
- 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
- When new board members officially take office.
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Find your county school board page HERE to learn more about your board-specific rules and election information.
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Policy-making: Creates or amends policies and responsible for oversight
Budget and finances: Approves and manages the budget, ensuring the district is a good steward of taxpayer dollars
Curriculum: Approves curriculum, including textbooks
Hiring: Recruits, hires, and evaluates the Superintendent. In some districts, school boards will also hire and evaluate additional staff roles, such as Treasurer, General Counsel, or Internal Auditor.
Community engagement: Represents, engages, and informs the community about policies and decisions of the district
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Check out this slideshow to learn more about the functions of a School Board member and how they interact with school administration!
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Composition: Florida statute states that school boards must have at least five board member seats and does not establish an upper limit on the number of board seats. School boards can change the number of board members through a resolution.
Timeline: School board nonpartisan primary elections are held in conjunction with the state's partisan primary elections - on the Tuesday 11 weeks before the general election, every two years in even-numbered years. School board general elections in Florida are held in conjunction with the statewide general election on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
Term Limits: In 2023, the legislature approved and Gov. DeSantis (R) signed a bill to enact term limits limiting school board members to eight consecutive years in office counting only terms starting after the November 2022 election.
- All school board elections are non-partisan, meaning your party affiliation is not listed on the ballot.
Requirements for Candidacy
To qualify for Florida School Board office, a candidate:
- Must be 18 years old by the start of the elected term
- Must be a resident of the district at the time of qualifying
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For more information about the qualifications and requirements to run for these offices visit the Qualifications for Elected Offices
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Members of the district school board receive a base salary, the amounts are indicated on the site below, and are based on the population of the county the district school board member serves.
[Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes :
Online Sunshine](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=1000-1099/1001/Sections/1001.395.html)
Florida Statutes do not allow a public employee to hold elected office on a board of their employer, so you wouldn't be able to serve both as a teacher and on the school board.
- Some chapters of teachers unions have policies for their members/leadership running for public office, so check with your steward if are a member of the union.
- Before filing for office, teachers should check with the employee handbooks and discuss with their supervisor to make sure everything is above board.
Each county in Florida elects it’s School Board either At-Large or from Single Member Districts & each county differs in its election or appointment of Superintendents.
- View the document below to find out how your district will elect or appoint candidates: