DC STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

DC State Board of Education Elected Representatives

DC State Board of Education for public schools management consists of five slots—all of which are elected posts. The state laws dictate that two of the members should be from eastern Washington and the remaining three from western Washington. However, there are never two open positions because of staggered terms—it only happens when a member resigns.

What is the Eligibility Criteria?

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• When vying for the post, here is what you need to meet.

• You must be a resident of Washington, DC.

• You should not be an employee of any educational institutions such as public or private schools, universities, and colleges.

• You should not be a holder of any position at the Superintendent’s office—public instruction.

So, like any other public office, you must not be serving in any other educational office. Again, if you were a board member of the public or private school districts, you can no longer continue.

What is the election process?

The Superintendent’s office, Public instruction, is responsible for conducting the elections. It announces the polls in July and opens the filling window for seven days. The registration process goes on until six days before the elections day.

Once the election begins, the office sends the ballots to the electorates who qualified. The electorates should then tick a single candidate in all categories and then return the ballots when they are through—within the due period.

What follows is the counting process. For that case, the Superintendent appoints a panel of three members that is responsible for counting. The winning candidate must have 51 percent of the total votes cast. But in case none of them qualifies, they are called for a runoff election. But note that an announcement for the runoff elections or the winner is made in December.

What if an elected member resigns?

In that case, the entire DC State Board of Education appoints one of the remaining two candidates. But again, the candidate must have passed the prerequisite test we discussed before.

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