Hall Pass: Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics, Edition #160

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 standardized testing 
  • School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
  • Indiana to become 10th state to hold partisan school board elections 
  • Extracurricular: education news from around the web
  • Candidate Connection survey

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On the issues: The debate over standardized testing

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 role should standardized testing play in K-12 public education? 

Scott Marion writes that standardized testing is critical for measuring success, driving learning goals, maintaining accountability, and promoting public transparency. Marion argues standardized tests are the best tool educators and public officials have for improving education quality. 

Mark Perma writes standardized tests give limited information on learning and education quality. Perma says officials should deemphasize standardized test scores in favor of more comprehensive, personalized measures. He says low test scores shouldn’t harm students or teachers.

Whatever the Feds Do, States Must Continue Giving Standardized Tests | Scott Marion, The 74 Million

“State assessments provide crucial information that enables states to monitor and support schools, evaluate what’s working and what isn’t, and report publicly on how well they’re educating their students…. Statewide exams are designed to serve four critically important purposes: monitoring of statewide educational growth and achievement; evaluation and continuous improvement; transparency and public engagement, and the signaling of expectations for student learning. … Educators want state assessments to serve critical purposes, and these exams have met rigorous quality standards to do so. They are crucial tools for monitoring the achievement and growth of all students in the state, evaluating programs, providing a way to report transparently about schooling in the state, and signaling to teachers and leaders important information about the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn.”

Why Standardized Testing Makes A Great Servant—And A Terrible Master | Mark C. Perna, Forbes

“Testing is often described as ‘high stakes’ because so much depends on it. Scores are often used to make school funding decisions, penalizing schools where students aren’t acing the test. Teacher performance and school quality are often judged by test scores, when the biggest factor in a student’s score is not their teacher or school, but their parents’ income. In most places, standardized testing has become the master rather than the servant—inciting a frenzy of preparation that displaces actual instruction with stress-laden test prep. …  Test, by all means. But don’t make it necessary to spend the preceding six weeks cramming test skills like memorization, recall, and studying into students. Don’t hang the threat of poor scores over teachers’ heads. Don’t make kids feel their value depends on their performance. Yes, test our students—and then let’s get to the real business of preparing them for successful, rewarding lives..”

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

In 2025, Ballotpedia will cover elections for more than 30,000 school board seats. We’re expanding our coverage each year with our eye on covering the country’s more than 80,000 school board seats.    

  • July 8—South Carolina
  • Aug. 5—Kansas, Washington
  • Aug. 26—Alabama
  • Sept. 16—New Hampshire

Click here to learn more about this year’s school board elections. 

Maine School Administrative District 46 recall results

In last week’s edition of this newsletter, we previewed the June 10 recall elections against Alisha Ames and Judy Saunders, two of the 13 members of the Maine School Administrative District 46 school board. 

Here’s what happened on Election Day:

  • Unofficial results show that roughly 75% of voters favored removing Ames from office, while roughly 67% favored removing Saunders. 
  • Ames was elected to the board in 2023. Saunders was elected in 2024.

The details: “Stop the Power Trip” began the recall effort. The group comprises five members, including former board member Tiffany Grover. Grover lost her re-election bid in 2024. Two other members of the group ran for election to the board in 2024 but lost against Saunders.

  • Among other things, “Stop the Power Trip” said Ames had a conflict of interest because of the homeschooling co-op she runs. The group alleged that Saunders violated the district’s nepotism policy. 
  • Ames and Saunders denied wrongdoing. 

Context: Ballotpedia has tracked 15 school board recall efforts against 30 board members in 2025. Voters approved a recall election against a board member on April 22.

  • Between 2009 and 2024, Ballotpedia tracked an average of 35 recall efforts against an average of 81 school board members each year.
  • Ballotpedia will release its Mid-Year Recall Report later this summer. Click here to read our 2024 Recall Analysis.

Click here to learn more about this election. 

Indiana to become 10th state to hold partisan school board elections 

A version of this story appeared in the June 10 edition of Ballotpedia’s Daily Brew newsletter. Subscribe to receive our top three political stories each weekday morning.  

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) signed Senate Bill 287 into law on May 6, making Indiana the 10th state to require partisan school board elections. The law will take effect on July 1. Currently, candidates in more than 90% of school board elections across the country run in nonpartisan elections, including in Indiana. 

Indiana’s next school board elections will take place in 2026.

In 41 states, school board candidates run in nonpartisan elections only. That number will fall to 40 on July 1.  

Once SB 287 takes effect, Indiana will be one of five states requiring candidates to run in partisan school board elections, alongside Alabama, Connecticut, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. Under the Indiana law, candidates can run under the banner of a political party, such as the GOP or the Democratic Party, or as an independent. Candidates can also state that they have no affiliation and are not running as an independent.

Five states—Georgia, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee—allow for both partisan and nonpartisan elections, depending on the district. 

SB 287 passed 54-40 in the House and 26-24 in the Senate. In the House, 54 Republicans voted yes, 14 Republicans and 26 Democrats voted no. Three House Democrats and two House Republicans were absent, and one House Democrat abstained. In the Senate, 26 Republicans voted yes, and 14 Republicans and all 10 Democrats voted no. Indiana has a Republican trifecta. Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the General Assembly. 

State Sen. Gary Bryne (R), who wrote the bill, said school boards are already partisan: “SB 287 is about accepting the reality and no longer pretending that our school boards are something they haven’t been for a long time.” Bryne said, “Like it or not, this is something that voters want to know about the candidate.”

State Rep. Carey Hamilton (D), who voted against the bill, said, “I think about all of the people I have known in my community who have run for school board in the districts in my community because it’s a nonpartisan position.” State Sen. Eric Bassler (R), who voted against SB 287, said it would deter qualified individuals who don’t want to identify with a political party from running: “We should be striving to have the best people run for school board, not eliminating some of the best people running for school board.”

SB 287 is not the first Indiana bill that would have allowed school board candidates to run in partisan elections. A similar bill died in committee in 2023. 

As of 2023, there were 291 public school districts in Indiana, with a total of 1,692 school board members. Those school districts operated 1,769 schools with 997,869 students. Nationally, there are roughly 13,000 public school districts and 83,000 school board members. 

National context

Legislators in at least 13 states have introduced at least 16 bills on candidates using party labels in school board elections this year. 

In addition to the one in Indiana, noteworthy bills this year include the following:

  • In Arkansas on April 10, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed HB1724, which adds school board members to the list of offices elected in nonpartisan elections. School board elections in Arkansas were already nonpartisan, but the bill also made changes to school board election dates, among other things. 
  • Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed SB1441 on April 18, which would have required school board candidates to have their party affiliation listed on the ballot based on their voter registration 150 days before a primary election instead of appearing without a party designation.
  • In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed HB73 on May 13, which makes future Seminole County Board of Education elections nonpartisan starting August 1, 2025 

Other than the bills that became law in Arkansas and Georgia, as well as one that was introduced in Florida, all bills introduced this year would make some or all school board elections in their respective states partisan. Republicans sponsored all 16 bills. Eleven bills are in states with Republican trifectas, and the remaining five are in states with divided governments. Legislators introduced seven bills on party labels in school board elections in 2024 and three in 2023.

Debates over partisan or nonpartisan school board elections have also played out in the world of ballot measures. Last year, for example, voters in Florida defeated Amendment 1, which would have required school board candidates to run in partisan elections. The vote was 55% in favor and 45% opposed, but in Florida, ballot measures must clear a 60% threshold to take effect. Florida had partisan school board elections until 1998, when voters approved Amendment 11 64-36%.

We’ve covered the debate over partisan school board elections in Hall Pass.

Click here to see all legislation related to school board elections in 2025. To learn more about the rules governing party labels in school board elections in every state, 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 looking at survey responses from two Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, school board candidates who ran in elections in May. Pennsylvania is one of four states where school board candidates run in partisan elections. 

Tawana Cook Purnell ran in the May 20 Democratic primary for Pittsburgh School District Board of Directors District 1, defeating Carlos Thomas 61-38%. Purnell advanced to the Nov. 4 general election, in which she is unopposed. 

Tonya Fores ran in the Democratic primary for District 3. Fores lost to Erikka Grayson 27-73%.  

The Pittsburgh School District is the second-largest in Pennsylvania, with roughly 19,700 students. The board consists of nine members elected by district to four-year terms. Five seats are up for election this year. 

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

  • “My “deep and wide” experience in the world of education will inform strategic, efficient, and wise decision making,
  • Schools must be safe for all students: physically, culturally, and personally.
  • All students are capable of excellence; it is the school’s responsibility to uncover it in a caring, skilled, and collaborative environment.”

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

Here’s an excerpt from Fores answer to the question, “What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?” 

  • “Protecting and Strengthening Our Schools I believe school closures should not be an option. Our schools are community pillars. I will work to protect them, advocate for equitable funding, and push for real solutions not shutdowns.
  • To stop low enrollment, we must focus on making our schools more attractive and accessible to families. Strengthening after-school programs, improving school safety, and enhancing parent engagement can also make a significant impact. When families see their neighborhood schools as thriving, welcoming, and well-resourced, they are more likely to enroll their children and remain invested long-term.”

Click here to read the rest of Fores’ responses. 

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

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

The survey contains over 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 display on 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!

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