Election dates and frequency

See also:Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board general elections in Delaware are held on the second Tuesday in May every year.

See law:Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1072

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all regular public school districts in the state. 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 6, 2026
• General election date: May 12, 2026

Election system

School board members in Delaware are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries. In the case of a tie vote, another election must be held on the third Saturday in June following the May general election.

Members of the board of education for vocational-technical school districts in Delaware are appointed by the governor not elected.

See law:Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1072
andDelaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1051

Party labels on the ballot

See also:Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Delaware are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Delaware Statute states, "For the election of school board members, the names of all filed candidates shall be listed alphabetically without political party designation."

See law:Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1076

Winning an election

The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.

See law:Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1083

Term length and staggering

School board members in Delaware are elected to four-year terms. A 2021 bill changed the length of school board terms from five years to four years starting with 2022 elections and going forward. The 2021 bill changing school board term lengths from five years to four years was designed to allow the completion of five-year terms that had already begun.

See law:Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066, 1068, and 1069

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

By default, the board members of school districts in Delaware are elected at large by all voters in the district. However, state law provides specifically for five districts to elect school board members by sub-district and two districts to elect school board members through a combination of at-large and by-subdistrict seats.

The board members of Cape Henlopen School District and Milford School School District are elected through a combination of four seats by sub-district and three seats at large.

The board members of Brandywine School District, Christina School District, Colonial School District, and Red Clay School District are elected one each from seven different sub-districts. The board members of Indian River School District are elected two each from five different sub-districts.

See law:Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066, 1068, and 1069
andDelaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1069
andDelaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066 and 1068

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

School board candidates must file notices of candidacy by 4:30 pm on the first Friday in March before the election.

See law:Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1075

Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first day of July following their election.

See law:Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1052, 1066, 1068, and 1069