School Elections
Filing for a School Board Election
General Information
- The filing deadline for School Board elections is the first Friday in March at 4:30 p.m.
- School Board members elected to full school board terms after December 31, 2021, are four (4) years, per the provisions of HB92.
- Contact the Department of Elections if you have any questions
Seats up for election
School Board Qualifications
- Must be a citizen of the United States and Delaware and live in the school district
- Must be 18 years of age or older at the time of the election
- Must live in the nominating district for which he/she is a candidate
- Cannot be a paid employee of the district subject to rules & regulations of the board
- Must never have been convicted of embezzlement
How to file
- Get a School Board Member Candidate Filing Packet from the Department of Elections or download it.
- File a completed Candidate Filing Form and a Delaware Child Protection Registry Consent Form with the Department of Elections no later than 4:30 p.m. on the first Friday in March in the year of the election. At the time of filing, a candidate shall submit a check for $14.00 payable to State of Delaware for the cost of the Delaware Child Protection Registry clearance check.
- The filing form must be notarized. The Department will notarize your form if you choose to file in person at the Department’s office.
- Obtain a criminal background check and Child Protection Registry check under Section 309 of Title 31 of the Delaware Code, through the State Bureau of Identification (SBI), in accordance with Section 209(b) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code.
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- Child Protection Registry Checks are completed by the Department of Elections, following submission to the Department by the candidate of their completed Delaware Child Protection Registry Consent Form.
- State Bureau of Identification (SBI) check information:
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- Information on where, when and how to get these checks completed is available at the Delaware State Police website, https://dsp.delaware.gov/obtaining-a-certified-criminal-history, or by calling (302) 739-5871 in Kent County or (302) 739-2528 in New Castle County and Sussex County.
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Appointments are required for the Delaware State Police Troop 2) [New Castle County] or Georgetown [Sussex County] locations. Walk-ins are accepted at the Dover [Kent County] location between 8:30AM and 3:00PM.
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When you go, inform the SBI staff that you are obtaining a background check in order to qualify as a school board candidate. This is a fingerprinted Delaware and national criminal background Check and Child Protection Registry background check under Section 309 of Title 31 of the Delaware Code. The cost for this check is $65.00
- Instruct the SBI to send the results to:
Delaware Department of Elections
ATTN: School Board Candidate Filings
905 S Governors Ave, Ste 170
Dover, DE 19904
- PLEASE NOTE: An individual seeking election to a school board is not considered an "official" candidate until (1) the individual files a completed, notarized filing form that is accepted by the Department of Elections; and (2) the Commissioner of Elections determines that an individual is qualified under 14 Del. C. § 209 (criminal background check and Delaware Child Protection Registry check) and under 14 Del. C. § 1052 (citizenship and residency requirement), as required under 14 Del. C. § 1075. A candidate's name will be added to the Department's online "filed school board candidates" list only after such determinations are made by the Commissioner of Elections, and the individual’s candidacy filing date will be noted as the date the filing form was first submitted to the Department of Elections.
- Complete and submit a Certificate of Intention to the State Election Commissioner.
- A candidate may withdraw by filing a Withdrawal Form to the Department of Elections before the date of the election.
- The withdrawal form must be notarized. The Department will notarize your form if you choose to withdraw in person at the Department’s office.