SB578: SB578 DeKalb County; board of education; the description of the education districts; change

DeKalb County currently elects its county board of education from districts drawn under a 1963 law that has been amended over the years. This bill rewrites the description of those districts using new census block and voting precinct boundaries, and restructures the board so that six members are elected from six numbered districts while a seventh member, serving as board chairperson, is elected by voters countywide rather than from a district. Current board members would keep serving out their existing terms. The changes would not take effect automatically: DeKalb County must hold a referendum on the November 2026 general election ballot asking voters to approve or reject the new district plan and chairperson arrangement. If approved, the new structure takes effect January 1, 2029, though provisions needed to run the 2028 board election take effect January 1, 2028. If voters reject it or no election is held, the bill repeals itself 365 days after the referendum date.

• Redraws the boundaries of the six numbered education districts used to elect DeKalb County school board members, based on 2020 census data.
• Changes the seventh board seat from a district-based seat to an at-large chairperson elected by all voters in the DeKalb County School District.
• Requires a countywide referendum on the November 2026 ballot before the new district map and chairperson election method can take effect.
• Allows current board members to finish their existing terms regardless of the new district lines.
• Sets the new system to take effect January 1, 2029 if approved, with limited provisions starting January 1, 2028 to run that year's election.
• Automatically repeals the Act 365 days after the referendum if voters reject it or the election is not held, and allows a court to order the election superintendent to conduct the vote if they fail to do so.

DeKalb County voters and school board candidates, the current members of the DeKalb County Board of Education, the DeKalb County election superintendent who must run the referendum, and residents whose homes shift between education districts under the new boundary lines.

If voters approve the change, DeKalb County residents would vote for their board chairperson countywide instead of within a single district, and many households could find themselves represented by a different board member because of the redrawn district lines starting with the 2028 election.

• Section 1 revises the 1963 Act to divide the DeKalb County School District into seven education districts, with district 7 covering the whole county and electing the board chairperson.
• Section 1 also defines how census 'VTD' (voting district) and block boundaries are used to describe the new district lines, per Appendix A.
• Section 1 sets rules for assigning any area left out of the district descriptions, or made noncontiguous, to the adjoining district with the smallest population.
• Section 2 lets current board members finish their current terms under the old districts.
• Section 3 requires a November 2026 referendum, specifies the ballot language, and sets the effective date of January 1, 2029 (with 2028 election provisions effective January 1, 2028) if voters approve.
• Section 3 provides that the Act is automatically repealed 365 days after the election if it fails or is not held, and allows a writ of mandamus to force the election superintendent to comply.
• Section 4 makes the rest of the Act effective upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without approval.

1. 2026-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-02-25Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Emanuel Jones (D, SD-010)Primary sponsor
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)

• DeKalb County schools
• school board elections
• redistricting
• local referendum