In November, Chicago voters will cast ballots for the city’s first fully elected school board, selecting 21 members to steer the future of Chicago Public Schools.
For decades, the Board of Education consisted of seven members appointed by the mayor. Advocates who championed the new, expanded model hope it will be more responsive to the needs of CPS students and families across the city.
There are 38 candidates across 20 district-level races, along with four candidates running for the citywide board president seat. A handful of board hopefuls are also running write-in campaigns. Voters will cast two votes: a candidate to represent their district, and another for board president.
Voters last weighed in on the Board of Education in 2024, when 10 seats were elected and the remaining 11 were appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. After a two-year transition, all 21 seats will be on the ballot this year. The 10 districts up for grabs in 2024 have been split into two subdistricts.
The new board terms will be staggered, with members serving either two- or four-year terms. The board president will have a four-year term. The next election for 10 district seats will be in 2026.
What district do I live in?
To find your elected school board district, either by school or home address, use our lookup tool.
Voting in Chicago’s school board elections? Find your district with our lookup tool.
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How do I vote?
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early voting downtown is now open at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners offices and its nearby voting supersite. Early voting begins in all 50 wards on Oct. 19. Same-day registration is available at all voting sites.
The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Oct. 29.
Why does an elected school board matter?
Advocates have long seen an elected school board as a vehicle for advancing equity in the nation’s third-largest school district. The new governance model was codified in state law in 2021, after years of advocacy, including efforts by the Chicago Teachers Union.
The decade-long political movement was in part fueled by the intense backlash over the mass closures of 50 schools in 2013, which took place almost entirely in Black and Latino neighborhoods.
At 21 members, the new board will be among the largest elected school boards in the country. It will give a broad slate of parents, community activists and educators direct power over CPS, answering to diverse, newly-drawn constituencies across the city.
Board members serve on a volunteer basis and are not paid.
What is the school board’s role?
The board will oversee more than 304,000 students and 626 schools. Members are responsible for approving the district’s $10 billion budget, a vote that is often contentious because of limited state funding, spending cuts and the district’s long-term debt burden.
The board is also responsible for hiring and evaluating the district’s CEO. After a winding superintendent search, the current board appointed CPS CEO Macquline King in March.
The board president will, in particular, wield significant influence over district policy, in part by controlling what goes up for a vote. Those votes can range from routine contracts to property taxes — and even school closures. The district’s moratorium on closures expires at the end of this school year.
Two main blocs are competing for influence on the board: those aligned with the progressive CTU and Johnson, and those who are not. Most opposing candidates have support from several pro-school-choice groups that have opposed CTU, including the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, Common Ground Collective, and the Urban Center. Millions of dollars are expected to pour into the elections.
For more information on the race in a specific district, use the links below:
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