Hall Pass: Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics, Edition #140

By

Ballotpedia staff

Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving  school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. 

In today’s edition, you’ll find:

  • On the issues: The debate over New Jersey’s elimination of teacher tests
  • In your district: top challenges in 2025
  • School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
  • Ohio becomes 23rd state to adopt a Parents’ Bill of Rights
  • Extracurricular: education news and numbers from around the web
  • Candidate Connection survey

Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas!

On the issues: The debate over New Jersey’s elimination of teacher tests

In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district. Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered.

What’s the background?

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed a law in June 2024 eliminating the requirement for teachers to pass the Praxis basic skills test before receiving their educator’s license. The test measured proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics. Several other states have eliminated or relaxed teacher certification requirements in recent years. Illinois, for example, stopped requiring teacher candidates to pass a basic skills test in 2019. In 2021, California passed a law providing teacher candidates with alternatives to basic skills tests. 

The New Jersey bill took effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Today, we’ll look at arguments supporting and opposing the elimination of the requirement. 

What are the arguments?

Cal Thomas writes that eliminating the testing requirement will result in the hiring of less-qualified teachers. Thomas says more school choice options would bring more teachers into the profession without lowering standards. 

The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board writes that teachers don’t need basic reading and math tests since they have four-year degrees. The paper says prospective teachers face barriers and fees that deter some from entering the profession. 

Read on

Dumbing Down New Jersey Schools | Cal Thomas, Townhall 

“The rationale, if one can call it rational, is that New Jersey is not attracting enough teachers to the profession and so standards must be lowered so more will apply. This reminds me of what the Army has done for physical fitness requirements. In 2022, the Army lowered the physical fitness standards for women and older troops in its annual physical fitness exam to attract more enlistees. Where did the idea come from that lowering standards might produce higher achievement? … New Jersey has partial school choice options, but only for public schools that include charter and magnet schools. It also allows for parents who wish to instruct their children at home. But parents who want their children to have an education with the moral values that a religious foundation brings are out of luck. They must pay twice – their high New Jersey taxes and private school tuition. Many can’t afford it and so especially poor and even middle-class students are trapped in a system that will now include teachers who wouldn’t qualify to teach under the previous standard.”

Editorial: It’s the kids who can’t read, not the teachers | The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune

“It’s fair to point out that addressing a national early childhood literacy crisis requires ensuring that our teachers are properly equipped to do their jobs. We have to make sure our schools are staffed with effective, competent teachers, and we’ve got to make sure we don’t let standards slip. But get serious: A one-off standardized test isn’t the answer. Does anyone think teachers who graduate with a four-year bachelor’s degree won’t be able to read or do very basic math? Fees to take the Praxis Core Skills test cost as much as $150, which isn’t an insignificant amount of money for a recent college graduate, or someone who’s trying to break into a new field or someone who finds themself in-between jobs. … Many would-be educators think twice, or not at all, about pursuing the profession because of the daunting amount of obstacles in their way: The prospect of acquiring another degree, plus navigating the licensure process, is a lot to tackle on top of other obligations such as family and putting food on the table.”

In your district: Top challenges in 2025

We want to hear what’s happening in your school district. Please complete the very brief survey below—anonymously, if you prefer—and we may share your response with fellow subscribers in an upcoming newsletter.

What are the top challenges facing your district this year?

Click here to respond!

You can read our previous reader surveys and responses here. 

School board update: filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications

This year, Ballotpedia covered elections for more than 25,000 school board seats in 36 states. We’re expanding our coverage each year with our eye on covering the country’s more than 80,000 school board seats.  

Upcoming school board elections

Oklahoma 

This year, Ballotpedia will provide comprehensive coverage of the Sooner State’s school board elections, including in Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma City Public Schools, and Edmond Public Schools—the state’s three largest districts by student enrollment. 

Primaries are scheduled for Feb. 11, while general elections are scheduled for April 1.

In Oklahoma, elections are canceled if only one candidate files to run for a seat. If two candidates file, the primary is canceled and both advance to a general election. If more than two candidates file, a candidate can win the primary outright with more than 50% of the vote. When that doesn’t happen, the two top vote-getters advance to the general.

In 2023, Oklahoma held elections for 556 school board seats. Although Oklahoma’s school board elections are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia used publicly-available voter files and candidate filing information to identify candidate partisan affiliations, finding that:

  • Registered Democrats won 24%
  • Registered Republicans won 72%
  • Registered independents or a minor party candidates won 4%

Ballotpedia also found that 92% of incumbents who ran for re-election won, but 82% ran unopposed. Of the 80 incumbents who faced opposition, 47% lost.

Click here to read our full 2023 analysis of Oklahoma’s school board elections.

Wisconsin

Ballotpedia will cover primary elections for seven school districts in Wisconsin, including the state’s two largest school districts, on Feb. 18. These elections will occur in DeForest Area School District, Madison Metropolitan School District, McFarland School District, Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, Milwaukee Public Schools, Sun Prairie Area School District, and Verona Area School District.  The general elections for these districts are scheduled for April 1.

California

Ballotpedia will cover partial redo elections for three seats on the Coachella Valley Unified School District school board on March 5. The Coachella Valley Unified School District spans both Riverside and Imperial counties. The elections originally took place on Nov. 5, 2024, but due to a clerical error, the races were omitted from roughly 2,400 voters’ ballots in Imperial County. 

As a result, a Riverside County Superior Court judge ordered a partial redo election in which only Imperial County residents will participate. Election officials will then add the results from the partial redo election in Imperial County to the results from the other county’s November election to produce the final results.

Coachella Valley Unified School District is the 77th largest district in California, with more than 17,000 students. 

Ohio becomes 23rd state to adopt what supporters call a Parents’ Bill of Rights

On Jan. 8, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed House Bill 8, giving parents the right to direct the upbringing and education of their child. Ohio is the 23rd state to adopt what supporters call a Parents’ Bill of Rights.

The law takes effect 90 days after the date of signing. 

The term Parents’ Bill of Rights refers to laws that give parents rights regarding their involvement in their children’s education. In some states, these laws are education-specific. Others are more general, commonly allowing parents to direct their children’s upbringing. Even if there is no statewide statute regarding parents’ rights, some local school districts have passed parents’ rights policies in their jurisdictions.

Proponents say the laws are necessary to reestablish that parents have the ultimate say over their children’s education, and that schools should not push concepts and ideologies with which parents broadly disagree. Critics say these laws drive a wedge between educators and parents and could endanger students from marginalized backgrounds. 

HB 8 contains the following provisions:

  • Prohibits instruction that includes what the bills calls sexual concepts or gender ideology in kindergarten through third grade
  • Allows parents to review and opt their students out of instruction that includes sexual concepts or gender ideology.
  • Allows parents to file concerns with the school district regarding any topic addressed in the Parents’ Bill of Rights.
  • Requires schools to notify parents of any changes to their student’s mental, emotional, or physical health, including any requests by students to identify as a gender that does not align with the student’s biological sex.

Additionally, the bill requires that students be allowed to leave school for portions of the day to receive religious instruction, so long as the classes are privately funded and take place off campus. Previously, school boards had leeway to set policies around religious instruction.

HB 8 passed the Ohio Senate 24-7, with 24 Republicans supporting it and one Republican joining all Democrats to oppose it. The bill passed the Ohio House of Representatives 57-31, with 57 Republicans supporting it and three Republicans joining the House Democrats to oppose it. 

Ohio has a Republican trifecta. Republicans hold a 65-34 majority in the House and a 23-9 majority (with one vacancy) in the Senate. 

Rep. D.J. Swearingen (R) said, “What we’re trying to do with the ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ is to preserve that critical relationship between a parent and their child in the school system.” Rep. Sara Carruthers (R), who co-sponsored the bill, said it requires schools to proactively include parents in their students’ education.

The bill faced opposition from Democrats and some school boards. 

State Senator Bill DeMora (D), said, “It’s another example of a solution looking for a problem. It puts students who seek help from teachers and school counselors at risk. We need to trust that school professionals will involve parents when necessary.” The Toledo Public School Board adopted a resolution opposing the bill before it was passed. Board Member Christine Varwig said the Parents’ Bill of Rights, among other bills, usurped local control from school boards and would harm students. 

States with Republican trifectas are much more likely to have enacted laws specifying parental rights in education. Of the 23 Republican trifectas, 12 have done so. Only one of the 15 states with a Democratic trifecta—Colorado—has enacted such legislation. Six of the 12 states with divided governments have also passed similar legislation. 

In 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 213-208 to pass H.R. 5, a bill to enact a federal Parents Bill of Rights. It would have required schools to create a public website affirming that parents have the right to review curriculum and inspect library material. The bill also would have required schools to receive parental approval before agreeing to a student’s change in pronouns or use of different locker rooms. 

Louisiana U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow (R), who sponsored H.R. 5, said: “I think the pandemic brought to light for a lot of us moms and dads, for the first time ever, we sat down and we saw what our children were being taught through the virtual classroom. And when we saw that, so many of us were disheartened with what we were viewing – and so then we did the right thing, right? We went to our school boards and voiced our displeasure, but we were turned away.”

The National Education Association (NEA), the country’s largest teachers union, opposed H.R. 5 in a letter to Congress: “Instead of building on what exists, H.R. 5 would stoke racial and social animosity. Instead of bringing us together to focus on what will really help students—an inspiring, inclusive, and age-appropriate curriculum that prepares them for the future in schools that are safe from gun violence—H.R. 5 would encourage parents to view educators as the enemy.”

H.R. 5 died in the U.S. Senate, which did not take up the bill.  

Ballotpedia maintains research about the authority of local school boards across the 50 states regarding certain topics. To learn more about this project, click here.

Extracurricular: education news from around the web

This section contains links to recent education-related articles from around the internet. If you know of a story we should be reading, reply to this email to share it with us! 

Take our Candidate Connection survey to reach voters in your district

Today, we’re featuring survey responses from candidates who won their school board races in the Nov. 5, 2024, general elections. 

Lydia Dominguez defeated Eileen Eady in the race for Clark County School District Board of Trustees District B, in Nevada. Dominguez received 56% to Eady’s 44%. Clark County is the largest district in the state, with an estimated enrollment of around 310,000 students.

Tim Dougherty defeated Devesh Vashishtha 55-45% in the race for Poway Unified School District Board of Education Trustee Area A, in California. Poway Unified is the 18th-largest district in the state, with an estimated enrollment of around 36,000 students. It is located in Poway, California, northeast of San Diego.

Here’s how Dominguez answered the question, “What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?”

  • STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. The sole purpose of school systems is to enhance student outcomes. It’s imperative for CCSD to increase literacy rates, and I’m committed to working with state lawmakers to achieve this crucial goal. I firmly believe that a focus board, dedicated to student outcomes and achievement, is key to achieving our educators’ and students’ goals.
  • PARENTAL RIGHTS. I prioritize community involvement and collaborative decision-making. As a board member, I’ll actively listen to parents, recognizing that our schools belong to the community. I am committed to being responsive to the needs of CCSD students, parents, and teachers.
  • SAFETY. I’m dedicated to supporting educators, ensuring their effective teaching and taking concerns about student discipline seriously. It is essential for educators to have the ability to teach effectively in their classrooms and have their concerns about student discipline taken seriously.”

Click here to read the rest of Dominguez’s answers.

Here’s how Dougherty answered the question, “What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?”

“A school board member’s core responsibility is to ensure that students receive a high-quality, academically focused education that prepares them for college, careers, and life. This means prioritizing core subjects like math, science, reading, and writing, and ensuring that district policies maintain academic rigor. Additionally, a board member must act as a steward of taxpayer dollars, ensuring resources are spent wisely, without waste, and always with a focus on improving educational outcomes.

It’s important to understand that a trustee’s role is to govern alongside the board by setting policies and strategic goals, not to manage the district’s day-to-day operations. Trustees must respect the authority of the board’s collective decisions and focus on high-level governance, rather than micromanaging. Local control over education is crucial, ensuring that parents and community members have a voice in what’s taught in schools. Trustees should ensure that the curriculum reflects the values of the community while maintaining focus on student achievement.”

Click here to read the rest of Dougherty’s answers.

Everyone deserves to know their candidates. However, we know it can be hard for voters to find information about their candidates, especially for local offices such as school boards. That’s why we created Candidate Connection—a survey designed to help candidates tell voters about their campaigns, their issues, and so much more. 

In the 2024 election cycle, 6,539 candidates completed the survey, including more than 500 school board candidates. 

If you’re a school board candidate or incumbent, click here to take the survey.

The survey contains more than 30 questions, and you can choose the ones you feel will best represent your views to voters. If you complete the survey, a box with your answers will appear in your Ballotpedia profile. Your responses will also appear in our sample ballot.

And if you’re not running for school board, but there is an election in your community this year, share the link with the candidates and urge them to take the survey!