Partisan Utah School Board Elections Ruled Constitutional
Sep 12, 2019, 1:44 PM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 5:02 pm
FILE (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Supreme Court has ruled that partisan state school board elections are constitutional overturning a 2017 district court decision.
High court officials say the Wednesday ruling reinstates a 2016 law meaning people who want to run for the state Board of Education can file as partisan candidates beginning in 2020.
The state Board of Education is composed of 15 members who are elected to four-year terms, with elections occurring every two years.
Proponents of partisan elections say political party mechanisms were needed to adequately vet school board candidates, a move lawmakers had intended under the now-reinstated law.
Current and former members of the state school board and some educational organizations say the ruling could lead to an educational system driven by a single political ideology influencing curriculum and policy.
