Title 13 — EDUCATION

Source: SL 1985, ch 119 , § 10.

No election may be contested on the grounds that any nonresident was allowed to vote if the nonresident was not challenged in the manner provided in §

Unless otherwise exempted by law, each school district must hold an annual election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June or the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, between the hours of seven a.m. and seven p.m. The school board shall select the date o…

The board of a school district may, in odd-numbered years, choose to hold a school district election in conjunction with a regular municipal election. The combined election must be approved by the governing body of the municipality. The combined election must be held on the first…

Source: SL 1985, ch 119 , § 9; SL 1986, ch 67 , § 6; SL 2004, ch 75 , § 8; SL 2015, ch 77 , § 17 rejected Nov. 8, 2016; SL 2025, ch 40 , § 23, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.

Source: SL 2004, ch 75 , § 11; SL 2005, ch 87 , § 5; SL 2007, ch 81 , § 14; SL 2025, ch 40 , § 24, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.

The number and place of voting precincts shall be determined by the school board. Source: SDC 1939, § 15.2513; SL 1955, ch 41 , ch 9, § 15; SL 1957, ch 65 ; SDC Supp 1960, § 15.2315; SL 1975, ch 128 , § 38.

Each voting precinct shall be presided over by an election board consisting of a minimum of two precinct deputies and one precinct superintendent appointed by the school board. Members of school boards may serve on election boards. Each precinct superintendent and precinct deputy…

The business manager of the school district shall provide proper ballots, pollbooks, voting booths, and necessary supplies as required by law to the proper election officials on election day. The ballots shall be as prescribed by the State Board of Elections. The quantity of ball…

Absentee voting shall be permitted in school district elections, including school district bond elections and shall be conducted pursuant to chapter 12-19 . The school board, with the approval of the county auditor and board of county commissioners, may permit absentee ballots to…

The returns from a school district election must be certified by the precinct election board in each polling place, and the ballots, properly sealed in ballot boxes, together with the pollbooks, must be placed in the custody of the school district's business manager. The business…

The pollbooks shall be opened and the election results shall be canvassed by the school board at the next meeting and certificates of election shall be issued by the business manager of the district to each successful candidate and election results shall be certified to the count…

13-7-19.2 Close margin in school board election--Request for recount--Recount board established. 13-7-19.3 Close margin in school election--Petition for recount--Appointment of recount board--Production of ballot boxes--Disputes. 13-7-19.4 Compensation of recount board. 13-7-20

If a tie vote exists after the canvass of the original official returns, the school board making the canvass shall certify the vote to the business manager. The business manager shall then notify the candidates that if no request for recount is made in writing to the business man…

If any candidate for the school board is defeated by a margin not exceeding two percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for the office, the candidate may, within five days after completion of the official canvass, file with the business manager of the school district a…

A recount shall be conducted if, within five days after completion of the official canvass of a school district regular or special election at which a question is approved or disapproved by a margin not exceeding two percent of the total votes cast in the election, any three regi…

In school district election recounts there shall be paid out of the general fund of the school district to the members of the recount board compensation set by the school board, to be not less than the minimum wage established by §

Repealed by SL 1973, ch 86 , § 20 13-7-27 Definitions. 13-7-28 13-7-28 , 13-7-29. Repealed by SL 2010, ch 80 , § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2012. 13-7-30 Information regarding school elections to be provided in school board minutes. 13-7-31 Time for providing election information. 13-7-32 J…

The terms "election," "candidate," "election officials," "elector," "voter," and "registration officials" when used in a school district election or petition are defined in §

Repealed by SL 2010, ch 80 , § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2012.

No elective county, municipal, or state officer or the holder of any other office, the duties of which are incompatible or inconsistent with the duties of a school board member, shall be eligible for such membership. Source: SL 1955, ch 41 , ch 9, § 9; SDC Supp 1960, § 15.2309; S…

For the most recent regular school election conducted in each school district as provided in § 13-7-10 , each school board shall provide in the school board minutes the following information: (1) The number of registered voters of the school district on the date voter registratio…

The school election information required in § 13-7-30 shall be provided within sixty days of the official canvass. Source: SL 2018, ch 91 , § 2.

A school board resolution to increase school board terms to four years or to decrease school board terms to two years, pursuant to § 13-8-2 , is subject to a referendum if five percent of the registered voters of the school district, based upon the total number of registered vote…

If a resolution to increase a school board term to four years is approved, pursuant to § 13-8-2 , the school board must designate the number of vacancies and the number of years, not exceeding four years, for each vacancy so that all succeeding elections have, insofar as practica…

If a school board has, by resolution, increased the length of terms from three to four years or decreased the length of terms from three to two years for the purpose of holding joint elections pursuant to § 13-7-10.3 , the school board may decrease the length of terms from four y…

If the board of a school district schedules an annual election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, each office holder whose term was to expire earlier in that year shall have the term extended until the office holder or another candidate for the office is dul…

Registration to vote and notice of registration in school district elections shall be as provided in chapter 12-4 . Source: SL 1955, ch 41 , ch 9, § 15; SL 1957, ch 65 ; SDC Supp 1960, § 15.2315; SL 1961, ch 92 , § 24; SL 1975, ch 119 , § 18; SL 1975, ch 128 , § 31. 13-7-4.1. Rep…

13-7-5 Publication of notice of vacancies on school board--Newly created school districts. 13-7-6 Candidate nomination--Requirements--Formal declaration of candidacy--Petition filing deadline, contents, circulation, and verification. 13-7-6.1 Option to adopt campaign finance law.…

No person may vote at any school election unless the person is registered to vote pursuant to chapter 12-4 and resides in the school district at the time of the election. For the purposes of this section, a person resides in the school district if the person actually lives in the…

Between the fifteenth day and the thirtieth day of the month six months before the election, except in the case of the joint election as provided in § 13-7-10.1 , the business manager of each school district shall publish once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official n…

No candidate for elective school board membership may be nominated unless the candidate is a resident voter of the school district and unless the candidate files a nominating petition with the business manager of the school district. The candidate must file the nominating petitio…

The school district governing body may, by ordinance or resolution, adopt the provisions of chapter 12-27 . Source: SL 1988, ch 60 , § 2; SL 2008, ch 67 , § 22.

If the nominating petition is from a candidate for a vacancy on a new school board within a newly created school district entity pursuant to § 13-6-62 , the nominating petition shall be circulated no more than sixty days prior to the date of the election and filed no later than t…

Any candidate who has filed a nominating petition pursuant to § 13-7-6 may withdraw from the nomination by making a written request under oath. The candidate shall file the request with the school district's business manager. The business manager may not print the name of a candi…

The business manager of the school district shall publish in the official newspaper notices of an election once each week for two consecutive weeks with the first publication not less than ten days before the election. The notice shall state the date of the coming school election…

When a special election is held to decide an issue, the business manager of the school district shall publish notices as provided in §

No election may be held in a school district if: (1) The number of nominating petitions filed for each vacant position to be filled does not exceed the number of vacancies; and (2) No other questions are to be submitted to the voters. The business manager shall issue certificates…

If death or withdrawal of a candidate or candidates at any time prior to forty - eight hours preceding the opening of the polls in any school district election occasions that there is no contest on the ballot, that ballot need not be voted and if it constitutes the only ballot to…