In 2026, Ballotpedia surveyed school board members to document their experiences serving on school boards and explore differences between serving on school boards in urban, suburban, and rural districts.
The survey included Hall Pass subscribers and members of the National School Board Association (NSBA) rural group, and totaled 670 respondents. Of these, 656 were serving on school boards at the time of the survey; 426 served in rural districts, 181 in suburban districts, and 37 in urban districts. Because the survey oversampled rural school board members, its key findings focus on their experiences.
The survey found that:
