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 homework 
• In your district: Top challenges in 2025
• School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
• Texas Senate Education Committee advances education savings account bill for a full chamber vote
• Extracurricular: education news and numbers from around the web
• Candidate Connection survey

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On the issues: The debate over homework

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.

Should schools assign homework?

Elizabeth Grace Matthew writes that eliminating homework assignments would reduce academic performance and take away incentives for high-performing students. Matthew says requiring after-school study halls would be a better way to reduce achievement gaps and create opportunities for low-performing students. 

Chris McNutt says homework is inequitable. McNutt says not all students and families have the time, money, and energy to dedicate to rigorous homework assignments. He says homework mainly disadvantages poorer students, making it harder for them to compete with wealthier students, get into good colleges, and learn effectively.

Perspective: In defense of homework | Elizabeth Grace Matthew, Deseret News

“[E]liminating homework, as many school districts around the country are doing, is unconscionably counterproductive. The poisonous logic of equity is to pursue equality of outcome between groups at the expense of individuals. As we demand less from students across the board, we lower the ceiling without raising the floor. So, yes, it’s true that the gap between higher-achieving and lower-achieving students may shrink when we cease to offer students the incentive to improve their academic performance through the repetition and reinforcement of assigned homework. But, as plunging test scores across the country suggest, shrinking achievement gaps in response to equity measures are mostly the result of higher-achieving students doing worse, not of lower-achieving ones doing better. … Closing academic and professional achievement gaps should entail measures like mandating an after-school study hall with academic attention available for those who are not getting their work done at home, not eliminating the work itself. Sacrificing the pursuit of academic and professional excellence on the altar of ideology is unparalleled in its perverse capacity to foster both educational mediocrity and personal fragility.”

This is why we should stop giving homework | Chris McNutt, Human Restoration Project

“Homework is an inequitable practice that harms certain individuals more than others, to the detriment of those with less resources and to minor, if any, improvement for those with resources. … Many justify the practice of assigning homework with the well-intentioned belief that we’ll make a more equitable society through high standards. However, it seems to be that these practices actually add to inequity. ‘Rigorous’ private and preparatory schools – whether they be ‘no excuses’ charters in marginalized communities or ‘college ready’ elite suburban institutions, are notorious for extreme levels of homework assignment. Yet, many progressive schools who focus on holistic learning and self-actualization assign no homework and achieve the same levels of college and career success. … When assigning homework, it is common practice to recommend that families provide a quiet, well-lit place for the child to study. After all, it’s often difficult to complete assignments after a long day. Having this space, time, and energy must always be considered in the context of the family’s education, income, available time, and job security.”

In your district: Top challenges in 2025

A technical error prevented readers from submitting their responses to this survey last week. Thank you to the reader who pointed that out, and apologies for the inconvenience! 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 in 2025?

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

The 2025 school board election calendar continues to come into sharper focus. Over the next few months, Ballotpedia will cover school board elections in the following states:

• Feb. 11—Oklahoma (primaries)
• Feb. 18—Wisconsin (primaries)
• March 4—California
• March 11—Arizona
• April 1—Alaska, Illinois, Oklahoma, (general elections), Wisconsin (general elections)
• April 8—Missouri and Nebraska
• May 3—Texas
• May 6—Montana
• May 13—Arkansas and Delaware

Ballotpedia will continue to update the list of states and election dates as we gather more information. 

Click here for more information on upcoming elections in your state.

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.

Ballotpedia will cover 42 elections with 88 candidates. Last year, Oklahoma held its spring primaries on Feb. 13, and Ballotpedia covered 24 elections with 75 candidates. In 2023, those figures were 25 and 78, respectively. 

In Oklahoma, elections are canceled if only one candidate runs for a seat. If there are two candidates, the primary is canceled and both advance to a general election. If there are more than two candidates, 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.

Wisconsin

On Feb. 18, Ballotpedia will cover 23 primaries across 23 districts, including the state’s two largest. 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.  

In Wisconsin, primaries are only held if there are more than two candidates running for any specific single-seat race or if the number of candidates running for multi-seat races is more than twice the number of seats up for election. Otherwise, the primary is canceled and candidates automatically advance to the general election ballot.

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.

• Trustee Area 1: Incumbent Trinidad Arredondo and Agustin Arreola 
• Trustee Area 2: Incumbent Jesus R. Gonzalez and Altrena Santillanes
• Trustee Area 4: Incumbent Jocelyn Vargas and Adrian Rodriguez.

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

Abbott emphasizes private school choice in state address as Texas Senate Education Committee advances education savings account bill for a full chamber vote

A version of this story ran in Ballotpedia’s Daily Brew on Feb. 3. Subscribe here to receive the top three political stories you need to know about——whether state, local, or federal—in your inbox each morning. 

On Feb. 2, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) gave his State of the State address, declaring private school choice and teacher pay two of seven emergency items on which he hopes to work with the Legislature this session.

Texas’ state constitution prevents the Legislature from passing bills in the first 60 days of the session except for those related to the governor’s emergency items.    

Abbott has emphasized private school choice since 2017 and endorsed candidates in state House primaries in 2024 who share his education priorities. In his address, Abbott said, “Government-mandated schools cannot meet the unique needs of every student. But Texas can provide families with choices to meet those needs.” 

Nationwide, 32 states have some form of private school choice program, such as vouchers, education savings accounts (ESAs), or education tax credits. The size and scope of each plan varies (for state-specific details, click here). Texas is one of the 18 states that does not have a form of private school choice. It is also one of four states with a Republican trifecta that does not have such a program.

Abbott’s hope for a statewide private school choice program came one step closer to becoming reality on Jan. 28, when the Texas Senate Education Committee voted 9-2 to advance Senate Bill 2, creating an ESA program, to a full chamber vote. The bill would provide $10,000 per year for any student enrolled in an approved private school—and $11,500 for students with disabilities. The state would also provide $2,000 to students participating in the program but not enrolled in an accredited school.

The vote was along party lines, with all nine Republican committee members voting in favor of advancing the bill and both Democrats voting against it.

The Texas Senate was expected to vote on SB 2 Feb. 5.

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico responded to Abbott’s address, saying, “Voucher scams are not school choice. It’s the schools’ choice because private schools can deny admission to any kid for any reason they want. So how is it ‘choice’ when the private school has all the power in the equation? How is it ‘choice’ when a majority of counties in the state of Texas don’t have a single private school?”

During the 2023 legislative session, 21 House Republicans joined all 63 Democrats in voting to remove an ESA provision from an education bill. Sixty-three Republicans voted against removing it.

Of the Republicans who voted to remove the ESA provision in the 2023 legislative session, nine lost in the primaries, five opted not to run again, and seven were re-elected. Abbott endorsed 15 Republican candidates in the 2024 primaries who supported school choice. Eleven candidates won their respective primaries or primary runoffs, and all 11 also won their respective general elections. 

Abbott said the House now has 79 committed school choice proponents, slightly more than the simple majority—76—needed to pass legislation.

Republicans have had a trifecta in Texas since 2003. 

One returning Republican representative, Jay Dean, did not support vouchers in the 2023 session but told school board members in his district that legislation was likely to pass this year. Dean has worried a universal school choice program would take money from public schools and require the state to eventually raise taxes to cover the costs. Critics also say rural districts lack private schools and other alternatives to public education, making school choice less relevant to students outside of cities and suburbs. 

Proponents of school choice programs say they can increase the number of educational options available to students in rural districts, including through online classes, and that the evidence suggests competition improves public schools. 

Ballotpedia maintains a compendium of arguments for and against private school choice policies. Click here to read those arguments.

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! 

• New Book Says There’s More to Holding Students’ Attention Than Silencing Phones | The 74
• Education Dept. Tells Schools to Change Sexual Misconduct Rules | New York Times
• Tulsa schools’ AI teaching tool boosts reading success amid state education challenges | KTUL
• New Indiana bill could politicize school board seats | WNDU
• NAEP Winners and Losers | Aldeman on Education
• Explicit instruction: Students need more of it | Chalkbeat New York
• Why Don’t Early Childhood Programs Have Access to Substitute Teachers? | EdSurge

Take our Candidate Connection survey to reach voters in your district

Today, we’re looking at survey responses from school board candidates in Wisconsin and California. 

Ethan Rouse is running in the Feb. 18 primary for one of three seats on the Green Bay Area Public School District Board of Education At-large, in Wisconsin. Six other candidates are running in the election, including incumbents Rick Crosson and James G. Lyerly. As of this writing, Rouse is the only candidate who has submitted a survey. 

Green Bay Area Public School District is the fourth-largest district in Wisconsin, with around 19,000 students. 

Here’s how Rouse answered the question, “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”

“I am passionate about education policy, focusing on real-world financial literacy, career readiness, and expanding technical education to prepare students for adulthood. Workforce development is another priority, aligning educational programs with evolving career trends to support a strong local economy. I also advocate for media literacy to help individuals navigate misinformation and make informed decisions, as well as expanding library access for our students to have the resources for their studies, regardless of their family’s economic status. These areas are essential for building a resilient and well-informed society.”

Click here to read the rest of Rouse’s responses. 

Dan Elder is running in the general election for one of three at-large seats on the Redondo Beach Unified School District school board. Hanh Archer and Rachel Nemeth are also running in the election, but have not completed the survey. 

Redondo Beach Unified School District is the 154th-largest in California, with around 10,000 students. 

Here’s how Elder answered the question, “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”

“Our students are our future. Education is key to giving them every opportunity not just to succeed but to thrive. We must do everything we can to prepare them and give them the tools they need to be the best version of themselves in a world that’s rapidly changing in ways we can’t fully appreciate. The world they will inherit is like nothing we’ve ever seen filled with opportunities and pitfalls they must be prepared to adapt to and embrace.”

Click here to read the rest of Elder’s responses. 

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!