In Virginia, state law says that parents have a right to make decisions about their children’s education. The Virginia Department of Education’s policies tell schools to respect parents’ values and beliefs, let parents make important decisions for their children, and keep parents informed about their children’s wellbeing. These policies, which are based on the statewide Parent’s Bill of Rights, were officially adopted by the Rockingham County School Board in September 2023. Because of these laws and policies, the School Board is required to listen carefully to parents’ concerns, especially about books in both libraries and schools.

In January 2024, after parental complaints over certain books that students had access to, the Board voted to remove 57 books from their public schools and libraries. The complaints focused on LGBTQ+ themes, sexual content, strong language, and violence. After the vote, the Board began going through books one by one to decide which will be permanently banned; as of 2025, they had banned at least 10 of the initial list of 57, including The Art of Racing in the Rain; Thirteen Reasons Why; Red, White and Royal Blue; and Sold.

The decisions are part of a nationwide trend of book bans and challenges, which research has shown is largely driven by activist efforts and state-level laws. The Rockingham School Board, when announcing the removals, said the list of books came from parent complaints and not from any activist group. A local news investigation found that the majority of the titles could be found in a database of targeted books maintained by Moms For Liberty, a conservative group that organizes activists and citizens to make book complaints and endorses candidates for school boards across the country who align with their views. Often, targeted books are focused on LGBTQ themes, diversity, or racial inequality. School Board members, when faced with a challenge to a book, have an important task – balancing parental concerns with the school’s learning goals and the rights of students and the public to access books of their choice.

Sources: the Code of Virginia; Virginia Department of Education; WHSV 3 News; the New York Times

Term limits: limited to 3 four-year terms

Eligibility: to run for school board, you must be at least 18 years old, a registered voter in Louisiana, and have resided in Louisiana for at least two years and in the district you want to represent for at least one year. Board members must also have at least a high school diploma or equivalent, and be able to read and write.

Louisiana has 70 school districts – one for each parish, plus a few city-run districts – and each one has an elected Board. The number of members on each Board varies, and most elect members by district instead of at-large. A Board member’s main responsibilities are:

• Hiring and firing the superintendent
• Setting school policies, including discipline policies
• Deciding to open new schools or close existing ones
• Approving the district’s budget
• Overseeing district leadership
  The Board controls how many employees schools have, but the Superintendent is in charge of hiring and placements
• Holding at least one public meeting a month
  Attending a meeting is one way citizens can get involved! If the Board neglects this requirement, voters can petition them to hold a meeting
• Setting a local school tax
  In Louisiana, School Boards can institute a small sales tax (up to 1%) to help pay teachers
• Authorizing charter schools
  Boards can authorize a new charter school in the district, but the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has power to oversee and regulate charter schools

Sources: Louisiana Revised Statutes; the Louisiana Legislative Auditor

Term limits: none; terms are four years

Eligibility: to run for any office in North Carolina, you must be at least 21 years old and eligible to vote in the state. People who are employed by a school district cannot serve on the Board for that district.

There are 115 local Boards of Education in North Carolina: one for each county, and 15 more for larger cities that have their own school districts. Find yours here. All but one (Thomasville City) are elected, and the number of members varies from 5 to 12. Elections are staggered, with around half the seats up for election every two years. In most areas, Board members are elected by district. Some Boards are nonpartisan and others are partisan.

Boards can make decisions on all school-related matters that are not already laid out in state law, and all decisions are made by majority vote – no member can act on behalf of the Board on their own unless the county specifically allows it. Some of the Board’s most important powers and responsibilities are:

• Passing the district’s budget
  Boards don’t have a lot of control over how much money the district gets, but they can decide how to spend it. That means the Board controls teacher salaries, class sizes, extracurriculars, arts programs, counselors and nurses, school building maintenance, and access to many other programs and services.
• Hiring the district’s Superintendent, and removing them if necessary
• Setting school policies
• Choosing textbooks, other classroom materials, and library books
  The State Board of Education has a basic list of textbooks, but districts are allowed to use materials that are not on this list. Local School Board members review challenges to books and materials, and decide whether challenged materials should be removed. Local School Boards are also required to make a list of all library books available to parents, and parents are allowed to prevent their children from checking out specific books. 
• Deciding to open new schools or close existing ones
• Managing school food services
• Providing alternative learning programs for students with special needs or who are under long-term suspension or expulsion
• Adopting risk management plans
  These are plans for how schools can respond to emergencies and violence. Boards are also required to report every incident of school violence to the state.

Sources: the North Carolina Constitution, Article VI; the North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 115C; Duplin County Schools

Term limits: none; terms are four years

Eligibility: to run for school board, you must be at least 18 years old and have lived in the school district for at least one year prior to the date of the election; anyone who has been convicted of a felony, or of a misdemeanor involving “dishonesty or moral turpitude” is not eligible; current employees of the school district, those who do business with the school district, and those who are already serving in another elected office are also not eligible

Each of the over 500 school districts in Pennsylvania has a board. School Boards have 9 members who are called School Directors. Some districts elect Directors at-large, some by district, and some by a combination of the two. Elections are staggered, with either 5 or 4 seats up for election every two years. The Philadelphia School District is an exception – Directors there are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. All Directors are unpaid. The Board’s main responsibilities are:

• Setting goals for the district
• Hiring (and firing) the district’s Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, who manage the school district’s daily operations
  The Superintendent also serves on the Board, but doesn’t vote; the Board doesn’t get involved in any other hiring decisions 
• Setting the district’s budget, which lays out how it will spend its money
  The budget decides teacher salaries, class sizes, how much is spent on new books and technology, and more 
• Setting some tax rates to bring in more money for education
• Approving the district’s curriculum plan
• Monitoring student achievement
  The Board keeps an eye on things like test scores, attendance, and other information to understand how schools are doing and where things can be improved
• Setting district-wide policies on discipline, student conduct, and other issues
  The Board can set policies, but they don’t get involved in individual teacher or staff evaluation, disciplining individual students, or other personnel issues
• Approving new charter schools
  The state government also plays a role in approving and overseeing charter schools

Sources: the Pennsylvania School Boards Association; the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania; the Philadelphia Board of Education

Term limits: varies – a few districts limit members to 3 terms, but most have no term limits; term length is either four years or three years

Eligibility: to run for school board, you must be qualified to vote in Virginia and have been a resident of the district you want to run in for at least one year. Employees of a school district are not eligible to run for its Board

In about 90% of Virginia school districts, School Boards are elected; in districts that don’t hold elections, members are appointed by the local government or a special commission. (A school district has the option to switch to an elected board by holding a referendum if a majority of the district’s voters vote in favor.) Some districts elect Board members at-large, some by district, and some by a combination of the two. The Board’s main powers and responsibilities are:

• Maintaining the school district’s buildings and other properties
• Making sure parents know about the benefits available to their children, including free or reduced-price lunch and SNAP benefits
• Changing school boundaries, consolidating schools, opening new schools, and closing existing schools
• Making decisions on curriculum
  State law says Boards can decide what classes schools can offer and the teaching methods that can be used, but those decisions must be in line with an executive order banning the teaching of “divisive concepts” 
• Deciding which books will be used in classrooms and school libraries
• Setting disciplinary policies
• Approving or denying charter school applications, in collaboration with the state Board of Education
• Holding regular public meetings, and hearings to inform the public about any big proposed changes (like opening/closing schools or redrawing boundaries)
  Parents, students, and members of the public have the right to make comments at these meetings

Sources: Code of Virginia: Education; Code of Virginia: Elections; Office of the Governor of Virginia; the Virginia Department of Elections; 13 News Now