{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/22.1-57.2.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/22.1-57.2.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/22.1-57.2.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/22.1-57.2.html"}],"law_id":61173,"edition_id":1,"section_id":61173,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.2","catch_line":"Referendum on direct election of school board members by the voters","history":"1992, c. 594; 2011, c. 599.","full_text":"The registered voters of any such county, city, or town may, by petition filed with the circuit court thereof, ask that a referendum be held on the question of whether the members of the school board of the county, city, or town shall be elected directly by the voters. The petition shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to at least 10 percent of the number registered in such locality on the January 1 preceding its filing. Upon the filing of a petition, the circuit court shall order and require the election officials at the next general election to open the polls and take the sense of the voters therein on that question. The petition shall be filed with the court not less than 111 days prior to the general election. The clerk of the court shall cause notice of the referendum to be published once a week for the three consecutive weeks prior to the referendum in a newspaper having general circulation in the county, city, or town, and a copy of the notice shall be posted during the same time on the door of the courthouse of the county or city, or of the county within which the town is located. The question on the ballot shall be:\n\t\t“Shall the method of selecting the school board be changed from appointment by the governing body (or the school board selection commission, whichever is applicable) to direct election by the voters?\n\t\t[ ] YES\n\t\t[ ] NO”\n\t\tThe election shall be held and the results certified as provided in \u00a7 24.2-684.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":223589,"text":"The registered voters of any such county, city, or town may, by petition filed with the circuit court thereof, ask that a referendum be held on the question of whether the members of the school board of the county, city, or town shall be elected directly by the voters. The petition shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to at least 10 percent of the number registered in such locality on the January 1 preceding its filing. Upon the filing of a petition, the circuit court shall order and require the election officials at the next general election to open the polls and take the sense of the voters therein on that question. The petition shall be filed with the court not less than 111 days prior to the general election. The clerk of the court shall cause notice of the referendum to be published once a week for the three consecutive weeks prior to the referendum in a newspaper having general circulation in the county, city, or town, and a copy of the notice shall be posted during the same time on the door of the courthouse of the county or city, or of the county within which the town is located. The question on the ballot shall be:\n\t\t“Shall the method of selecting the school board be changed from appointment by the governing body (or the school board selection commission, whichever is applicable) to direct election by the voters?\n\t\t[ ] YES\n\t\t[ ] NO”\n\t\tThe election shall be held and the results certified as provided in \u00a7 24.2-684.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":15375,"edition_id":1,"name":"Popular Election of School Board","identifier":"7","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13937,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:54:26","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:54:26","permalink":{"id":183975,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15375,"identifier":"7","token":"22.1\/5\/7","url":"\/22.1\/5\/7\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13937,"edition_id":1,"name":"School Boards; Selection, Qualification and Salaries of Members","identifier":"5","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12823,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:21","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:21","permalink":{"id":183811,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13937,"identifier":"5","token":"22.1\/5","url":"\/22.1\/5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12823,"edition_id":1,"name":"Education","identifier":"22.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","permalink":{"id":180949,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12823,"identifier":"22.1","token":"22.1","url":"\/22.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":84179,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.1","catch_line":"Applicability","url":"\/22.1-57.1\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.1","metadata":false},{"id":69515,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.1:1","catch_line":"Referendum in certain consolidated cities","url":"\/22.1-57.1_1\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.1_1","metadata":false},{"id":61173,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.2","catch_line":"Referendum on direct election of school board members by the voters","url":"\/22.1-57.2\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.2","metadata":false},{"id":84083,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.3","catch_line":"Election of school board members; election of tie breaker","url":"\/22.1-57.3\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.3","metadata":false},{"id":79811,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.3:1","catch_line":"Staggered terms of elected school boards in certain counties","url":"\/22.1-57.3_1\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.3_1","metadata":false},{"id":83886,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.3:1.1","catch_line":"Loudoun County school board; staggered terms","url":"\/22.1-57.3_1.1\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.3_1.1","metadata":false},{"id":70928,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.3:1.2","catch_line":"Pittsylvania County school board; staggered terms","url":"\/22.1-57.3_1.2\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.3_1.2","metadata":false},{"id":75957,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.3:2","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/22.1-57.3_2\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.3_2","metadata":false},{"id":79570,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.3:2.1","catch_line":"Appointment and terms of school board members for City of Williamsburg ","url":"\/22.1-57.3_2.1\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.3_2.1","metadata":false},{"id":58551,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.3:3","catch_line":"Election of school board and chairman in certain counties","url":"\/22.1-57.3_3\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.3_3","metadata":false},{"id":63936,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.4","catch_line":"Referendum to revert to appointment of the school board","url":"\/22.1-57.4\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.4","metadata":false},{"id":86956,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.5","catch_line":"Limitation on time of holding subsequent referendum","url":"\/22.1-57.5\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.5","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":69515,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.1:1","catch_line":"Referendum in certain consolidated cities","url":"\/22.1-57.1_1\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.1_1","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":84083,"structure_id":15375,"section_number":"22.1-57.3","catch_line":"Election of school board members; election of tie breaker","url":"\/22.1-57.3\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.3","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/22.1-57.2\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1992. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 594 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1992 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 1 time. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. That modification is as follows: in 2011, chapter 599<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":56732,"section_number":"22.1-47.2","catch_line":"Petitions for a referendum on direct election of school board members","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-47.2\/"},{"id":69515,"section_number":"22.1-57.1:1","catch_line":"Referendum in certain consolidated cities","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-57.1_1\/"},{"id":63936,"section_number":"22.1-57.4","catch_line":"Referendum to revert to appointment of the school board","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-57.4\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":82479,"section_number":"24.2-684","catch_line":"How referendum elections called and held, and the results ascertained and certified","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-684\/"}],"permalink":{"id":183985,"object_type":"law","relational_id":61173,"identifier":"22.1-57.2","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.2","url":"\/22.1-57.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/22.1-57.2\/","token":"22.1\/5\/7\/22.1-57.2","dublin_core":{"Title":"Referendum on direct election of school board members by the voters","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 22.1-57.2","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The registered voters of any such county, city, or town may, by petition<\/span> filed with the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> thereof, ask that a referendum<\/span> be held on the question of whether the members of the school board<\/span> of the county, city, or town shall be elected directly by the voters. The petition<\/span> shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to at least 10 percent of the number registered in such locality on the January 1 preceding its filing. Upon the filing of a petition<\/span>, the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> shall order<\/span> and require the election officials at the next general election to open the polls and take the sense of the voters therein on that question. The petition<\/span> shall be filed with the court<\/span> not less than 111 days prior to the general election. The clerk of the court<\/span> shall cause notice of the referendum<\/span> to be published once a week for the three consecutive weeks prior to the referendum<\/span> in a newspaper having general circulation in the county, city, or town, and a copy of the notice shall be posted during the same time on the door of the courthouse of the county or city, or of the county within which the town is located. The question on the ballot shall be:\n\t\t“Shall the method of selecting the school board<\/span> be changed from appointment by the governing body<\/span> (or the school board<\/span> selection commission, whichever is applicable) to direct election by the voters?\n\t\t[ ] YES\n\t\t[ ] NO”\n\t\tThe election shall be held and the results certified as provided in \u00a7 24.2-684<\/a>.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nREFERENDUM ON DIRECT ELECTION OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS BY THE VOTERS (\u00a7\n22.1-57.2)\n\nThe registered voters of any such county, city, or town may, by petition filed\nwith the circuit court thereof, ask that a referendum be held on the question of\nwhether the members of the school board of the county, city, or town shall be\nelected directly by the voters. The petition shall be signed by registered\nvoters equal in number to at least 10 percent of the number registered in such\nlocality on the January 1 preceding its filing. Upon the filing of a petition,\nthe circuit court shall order and require the election officials at the next\ngeneral election to open the polls and take the sense of the voters therein on\nthat question. The petition shall be filed with the court not less than 111 days\nprior to the general election. The clerk of the court shall cause notice of the\nreferendum to be published once a week for the three consecutive weeks prior to\nthe referendum in a newspaper having general circulation in the county, city, or\ntown, and a copy of the notice shall be posted during the same time on the door\nof the courthouse of the county or city, or of the county within which the town\nis located. The question on the ballot shall be:\n\t\t“Shall the method of selecting the school board be changed from\nappointment by the governing body (or the school board selection commission,\nwhichever is applicable) to direct election by the voters?\n\t\t[ ] YES\n\t\t[ ] NO”\n\t\tThe election shall be held and the results certified as provided in \u00a7\n24.2-684.\n\nHISTORY: 1992, c. 594; 2011, c. 599.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}