The Impact of School Board Election Timing Policies on Educational Equity

School boards in the U.S. make a variety of important decisions about K-12 education policy. Race-based educational inequality is likely due in part to inequality in political voice: If Black and Latinx community members are not well represented in the educational decision-making process, the interests of their children may not be prioritized by elected officials. Many school board elections are held at a different time from national elections, which substantially decreases voter turnout overall and makes the electorate less representative of the student population. This study will examine whether holding school board elections on-cycle increases the representation of Black and Latinx voters, which may result in the election of school board members who better represent the interests of Black and Latinx youth. Data will include districts in 39 states, with election timing data come from original tracking of election dates and contact with election officials. Academic achievement data and covariates will be drawn from the Stanford Education Data Archive, and data on descriptive representation will come from an original collection of winning board candidates. Finally, voter turnout data will come from historical voter data. The team will use event study methods and exploit variation in election timing across time and place to explore policy effects on educational equity, both within and between districts. They will capitalize on concentrations in district-level shifts from off- to on-cycle elections that occurred in five states, along with within-state shifts at the district level to learn more about the impact and mechanisms through which election time does or does not impact racial inequality in achievement. Findings will shed light on whether shifts in local political processes can create conditions that are more likely to produce policies that reduce racial and ethnic educational inequalities.