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School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict - Review","","NEPC Review evaluates a Fordham Institute report based on survey results from over 5,000 school board members across roughly 3,000 districts. The review summarizes demographic patterns, political alignment with national and local views, and measured differences from the broader U.S. public on school quality, school choice, and teachers’ unions. It highlights concerns about discrepancies, underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic Americans, and methodological limitations, including survey question ambiguity and an unusually partisan foreword that overstates conclusions.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/nepc-review-whos-on-board-school-boards-and-political-representation-in-an-age-of-conflict-review/586326/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/nepc-review-whos-on-board-school-boards-and-political-representation-in-an-age-of-conflict-review/586326.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Quinn Holloway","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-08","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the Fordham Institute report find about school board members?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The report finds that board members are disproportionately White and college educated, and they often are current or former teachers. It also finds their politics generally reflect national and local views while differing slightly from the U.S. public on issues such as school quality, school choice, and teachers’ unions.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why does the NEPC review consider the findings concerning?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The review points to discrepancies between board members’ beliefs and the broader public, alongside underrepresentation of Black Americans and Hispanic Americans on school boards. It also notes that the report provides no recommendations to address these issues.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What concerns does the review raise about the report’s presentation?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The review describes leading or ambiguous survey questions that cast doubt on results related to charter schools and school quality. It also criticizes the foreword for using partisan language, drawing unsubstantiated conclusions, and misrepresenting the report.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},586326,1793055624,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":56,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},2336474466712,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","NEPC Review: Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict (Fordham Institute, October 2025)  \nReviewed by:  \nCarrie Sampson and Jeanne M. Powers Arizona State University  \nMarch 2026  \nNational Education Policy Center  \nSchool of Education University of Colorado Boulder [nepc.colorado.edu](nepc.colorado.edu)  \nAcknowledgements  \nNEPC Staff  \nFaith Boninger  \nPublications Manager  \nPatricia Hinchey Academic Editor  \nElaine Duggan Production Design  \nAlex Molnar NEPC Director  \nKevin Welner NEPC Director  \nSuggested 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](https://nepc.colorado.edu/review/school-board)  \nFunding: This review was made possible in part by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Educational Research and Practice.  \nGREAT LAKES CENTER  \nFor Education Research & Practice  \nThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International License.  \nThis publication is provided free of cost to NEPC’s readers, who may make non-commercial use of it as long as NEPC and its author(s) are credited as the source. For inquiries about commercial use, please [contact NEPC at](contact NEPC at nepc@colorado.edu)[ nepc@colorado.edu](contact NEPC at nepc@colorado.edu).  \nThe National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, sponsors research, produces policy briefs, and publishes expert third-party reviews of think tank reports. NEPC publications are written in accessible language and are intended for a broad audience that includes academic experts, policymakers, the media, and the general public. Our mission is to provide high-quality information in support of democratic deliberation about education policy. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence and support a multiracial society that is inclusive, kind, and just. Visit us at: [http://nepc.colorado.edu](http://nepc.colorado.edu)  \n[http://nepc.colorado.edu/review/school-board](http://nepc.colorado.edu/review/school-board) 2 of 19  \nNEPC Review: Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict (Fordham Institute, October 2025)  \nReviewed by:  \nCarrie Sampson and Jeanne M. Powers  \nArizona State University  \nMarch 2026  \nSummary  \nThe Fordham Institute recently published a report of survey results from more than 5,000 school board members across 3,000 school districts. It finds that : (1) that school board members are disproportionately White, college educated, and likely tobe current or former teachers; (2) that their politics generally reflect those of both national and local views; and (3) that despite often aligning with their local communities’ views, they tend to differ slightly from the U.S. public in their beliefs about school quality, school choice, and teachers’ unions. The report concludes that those discrepancies—as well as the underrepresentation of Black Americans and Hispanic Americans on school boards—are concerning, but it offers no recommendations for alleviating them. One positive aspect of the report is its use of both nationally representative and enrollment-based weighting, providing a relatively nuanced snapshot of board members’ views. But leading and ambiguous survey questions cast doubtson findings related to board members’ views of charter schools and school quality. Overall, the results may interest readers, but offer no guidance for policymakers on how to address the identified areas of concern. Notably, the Foreword differs significantly from the report itself. Framed largely in partisan language, it draws unsubstantiated conclusions, overstating some find","cbCaioZgvH3xx3Iq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaioZgvH3xx3Iq","pdf",927168,"English","# Summary\n# I. Introduction","[{\"question\":\"What does the Fordham Institute report find about school board members?\",\"answer\":\"The report finds that board members are disproportionately White and college educated, and they often are current or former teachers. It also finds their politics generally reflect national and local views while differing slightly from the U.S. public on issues such as school quality, school choice, and teachers’ unions.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the NEPC review consider the findings concerning?\",\"answer\":\"The review points to discrepancies between board members’ beliefs and the broader public, alongside underrepresentation of Black Americans and Hispanic Americans on school boards. It also notes that the report provides no recommendations to address these issues.\"},{\"question\":\"What concerns does the review raise about the report’s presentation?\",\"answer\":\"The review describes leading or ambiguous survey questions that cast doubt on results related to charter schools and school quality. It also criticizes the foreword for using partisan language, drawing unsubstantiated conclusions, and misrepresenting the report.\"}]","NEPC Review: Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict - Review | PDF",1792057596,48]