How to Run for School Board in Texas

Many Texas independent school districts elect trustees on Saturday, May 1, 2027, and others elect them in November. To run in a May election, you file a sworn application for a place on the ballot with the secretary of the school board, or the person the board designates, between Wednesday, January 13, 2027 and 5 p.m. on Friday, February 12, 2027. State law sets no filing fee and no petition for trustee candidates, and trustee races carry no party labels.

To qualify, you generally must be at least 18, have lived in Texas for 12 months and in the school district for six months before the filing deadline, and be a registered voter of the district by that deadline. The Education Code adds rules of its own, covered below. This guide walks through each step, with citations to the Texas Education Code and Election Code. Dates calculated from the statutes are marked "based on state law." Confirm your district's details with its administration office.

For the full picture of a 2027 Texas race, including city offices, see our guide to running for local office in Texas.

Step 1: Learn how your board is elected

Board size. A Texas school board has the number of trustees the district had on September 1, 1995. A board of three or five members may vote to grow to seven (Education Code Section 11.051).

How seats are filled. Districts elect trustees in one of three ways:

• At large, where every voter in the district votes for the open seats and the top vote-getters win.
• By numbered position, where each candidate runs for a specific place on the board, such as Position 4 (Section 11.058).
• From single-member trustee districts, where the district is divided into areas and each area elects one trustee. A board may also elect at least 70 percent of its members from single-member districts and the rest at large (Section 11.052).

Terms. Trustees serve three-year or four-year terms. With three-year terms, about one-third of the board is elected each year. With four-year terms, about half the board is elected every two years (Section 11.059). Board policy states the schedule on which each term expires.

Election date. A trustee election must be held on the same date as a city election within the district, the November general election, or certain other local elections (Section 11.0581). A 2025 law also lets a school district move its election to the November uniform date. If your district votes on Tuesday, November 2, 2027, the Secretary of State lists a filing period of Saturday, July 17 to 5 p.m. on Monday, August 16, 2027.

Ask the district office four questions. Does the district vote in May or November? Which seats are on the 2027 ballot? Are they at large, numbered positions or single-member districts? Who receives candidate applications, and at what address?

Step 2: Check that you qualify

The general rule. Election Code Section 141.001 requires a candidate to be a United States citizen, at least 18 on the first day of the term, and free of a final felony conviction unless pardoned or otherwise released from its disabilities. It also bars a person found by a final court judgment to be totally mentally incapacitated, or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote. The Secretary of State's summary for school board trustees lists one year of residence in the state and six months in the school district before the filing deadline, and registration as a voter of the territory by the filing deadline.

For May 1, 2027, the residence rule means living in Texas since at least February 12, 2026 and in the school district since at least August 12, 2026 (based on state law). Your registration must be in effect by February 12, and the Secretary of State lists Tuesday, January 12, 2027 as the last day for candidates to register or update their registration.

Rules in the Education Code.

• Qualified voter. A person may not be elected trustee unless the person is a qualified voter (Section 11.061).
• Sex offender registration. A person required to register as a sex offender is not eligible to serve as a trustee (Section 11.061). The application includes a statement that you are aware of this rule (Section 11.055).
• Criminal convictions. A person convicted of a felony, or of the offense in Penal Code Section 43.021, is ineligible to serve (Section 11.066).
• Single-member districts. A candidate for a single-member seat must live in the trustee district they want to represent. A candidate for an at-large seat must live in the school district (Section 11.052).

What the job involves. Trustees serve without pay (Section 11.061). The board oversees the management of the district and makes sure the superintendent carries out its plans, and a single trustee may not act for the board unless the board authorizes it (Section 11.051). After leaving the board, a trustee may not take a job with that district for one year (Section 11.063).

Step 3: File your application for a place on the ballot

1. Get Form 2-49. The Secretary of State's form is the Application for a Place on the Ballot for a General Election for a City, School District or Other Political Subdivision. It includes a box that only school board candidates complete, acknowledging the sex offender rule. The district must provide the form free of charge.
2. Fill in every required line. Include the position or district number, if any, your ballot name, residence address, occupation, date of birth, felony conviction status, and how long you have lived in the state and in the district. A nickname may appear on the ballot only if you have been commonly known by it for at least three years.
3. Swear to it. Sign the application before a notary public or another person authorized to give oaths (Election Code Section 141.031).
4. File it between January 13 and 5 p.m. on February 12. File with the secretary of the board or the person the board designates (Election Code Section 144.004). You may deliver it in person, by mail, or by email to the address in the district's filing notice, because no fee is due. An emailed application must be sworn before you send it, and a mailed one counts only when it is received.
5. Keep a copy. The district reviews the application within five days and notifies you in writing if it is rejected (Section 141.032). A filed application cannot be amended.

Our post on the Texas application for a place on the ballot covers every line of the form. Check with the Texas Ethics Commission for any other filings.

Dates after filing. Write-in candidates must file a declaration with the secretary of the board by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16, 2027 (based on state law), because write-in votes for trustee count only for declared candidates (Education Code Section 11.056). The last day to withdraw is Friday, February 19, 2027 at 5 p.m. (based on state law). If every candidate on the district's ballot is unopposed after these deadlines, the board declares them elected and the election is not held (Election Code Sections 2.051 to 2.053).

Step 4: Run the trustee campaign

From February 12 to May 1 is 78 days. Voter registration ends on Thursday, April 1, 2027. The Secretary of State lists early voting from Monday, April 19 to Tuesday, April 27, 2027, and election day is Saturday, May 1, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A 2025 law, Senate Bill 2753, may change early voting dates once it takes effect, so confirm the schedule with your district or county elections office.

Know how the race is decided. In a district with numbered positions or single-member districts, the candidate with the most votes for each seat wins, unless the board adopted a resolution at least 180 days before the election requiring a majority (Education Code Section 11.057). Where a majority is required and no one reaches it, the top two candidates meet in a runoff on a Saturday the Secretary of State designates, between Monday, May 31 and Tuesday, June 15, 2027 (based on state law). In an at-large district without numbered positions, the candidates with the most votes fill the seats that are expiring.

Meet voters where they are. School board races reach parents, grandparents, teachers and neighbors who care about the schools. Attend candidate forums, meet voters at their doors, and ask the people you meet whether they would like updates. As an example only: a candidate and four volunteers who each knock on 40 doors a week for eight weeks would reach about 1,600 households. Set your own goals from the size of your district.

Step 5: Keep supporters informed by text

Texting works well in a school board race when it goes only to people who asked for it.

1. Get written permission. Use a sign-up sheet at forums and doors that plainly says the person agrees to receive campaign texts, with a place for the date. Never text numbers from a school directory, a class list, a parent group roster or a team contact sheet, and never text everyone on a voter list.
2. Settle your committee and Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that a political sender is a real campaign. It needs a 527 committee (the federal tax status of a political committee) with an EIN (its federal tax ID number) and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Check that your filing is viewable online before you request, and ask Campaign Verify Support if it is not. It costs $95, a request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029, and Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
3. Set up CampaignCNX+. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration, as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number) or toll-free, and files your Campaign Verify token with it. Put supporters in a group, record the consent date and source in a custom field, and schedule reminders. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically.

Hi [First name], it's [Name], candidate for [District] school board, Position [#]. Thanks for signing up at the forum. Reply STOP to opt out.

100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. For the rules that apply in every state, see our political texting guide, and if this is your first campaign, our post on running for local office with no experience covers the groundwork.

Before January 13

Confirm your registration and residence, find out which seats are up and who receives applications, and line up a notary. When you are ready to keep supporters informed through early voting, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.