The Fordham Institute’s survey of more than 5,000 school board members across 3,000 districts finds members are disproportionately White, college educated, and often current or former teachers; their political views generally mirror national and local publics, though they differ slightly on school quality, school choice, and teachers’ unions. While noting concerns about these gaps and the underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic Americans, the report offers no recommendations for alleviating these concerns. Its use of both national and enrollment-based weighting is a strength, but leading questions raise doubts about findings on charter schools and school quality. Overall, it provides a useful snapshot but little policy guidance, and its partisan Foreword misrepresents the findings, overstating some and ignoring others, and casting school boards as especially anti-charter.

Suggested Citation: Sampson, C. & Powers, J.M. (2026). NEPC Review: Who’s on board? School boards and political representation in an age of conflict. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrieved [date] from https://nepc.colorado.edu/review/school-board