79-549.

School board; Class I, II, or III school district; members; caucus or election; procedure.

(1) The school board of any Class I, II, or III school district that is a member of a learning community may place before the legal voters of the school district the issue of whether to begin to have a caucus for nominations by adopting a resolution to place the issue before the legal voters and certifying the issue to the election commissioner or county clerk prior to September 1 for placement on the ballot at the next statewide general election. The legal voters of the school district may also have the issue placed on the ballot at the statewide general election by circulating a petition and gathering the signatures of the legal voters residing within the school district at least equal to seven percent of the number of persons registered to vote in the school district at the last statewide primary election. The petitions shall be filed with the election commissioner or county clerk for signature verification on or before August 15 prior to a statewide general election. If the election commissioner or county clerk determines that the appropriate number of legal voters signed the petition, he or she shall place the issue on the ballot for the next statewide general election. The issue shall not be placed on the ballot again within four years after voting on the issue at a statewide general election.

(2) Any Class I, II, or III school district that nominated school board members by caucus pursuant to this section as it existed immediately before July 14, 2006, shall continue such procedure until the legal voters of the district vote not to continue to have a caucus for nominations pursuant to subsection (3) of this section. A caucus shall be held pursuant to subsection (5) of this section not less than seventy days prior to the holding of the election to nominate two or more candidates for each vacancy to be voted upon at the election to be held in conjunction with the statewide primary election pursuant to subsection (1) of section 32-543. No candidate nominated shall have his or her name placed upon the ballot for the general election unless, not more than ten days after his or her nomination, he or she files with the secretary of the school board a written statement accepting the nomination. The secretary of the school board shall certify the names of the candidates to the election commissioner or county clerk who shall prepare the official ballot listing the names as certified and without any area designation. All legal voters residing within the school district shall be permitted to vote at such election.

(3) The school board may place before the legal voters of the school district the issue of whether to continue to have a caucus for nominations by adopting a resolution to place the issue before the legal voters and certifying the issue to the election commissioner or county clerk prior to September 1 for placement on the ballot at the next statewide general election. The legal voters of the school district may also have the issue placed on the ballot at the statewide general election by circulating a petition and gathering the signatures of the legal voters residing within the school district at least equal to seven percent of the number of persons registered to vote in the school district at the last statewide primary election. The petitions shall be filed with the election commissioner or county clerk for signature verification on or before August 15 prior to a statewide general election. If the election commissioner or county clerk determines that the appropriate number of legal voters signed the petition, he or she shall place the issue on the ballot for the next statewide general election. The issue shall not be placed on the ballot again within four years after voting on the issue at a statewide general election.

(4) If the legal voters vote not to continue to have a caucus, the school board shall determine the number of members to be nominated and elected as provided in subsection (2) of section 32-543. The terms of the members in office at the time of the vote shall be extended to the first Thursday after the first Tuesday in January after the expiration of their terms. At the first general election following the vote, a number of members receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected for a term of four years and a number of members receiving the next greatest number of votes shall be elected for a term of two years so that approximately one-half of the school board members are elected every two years.

(5) A school district which uses a caucus for nominations shall develop rules and procedures for conducting the caucus which will ensure:

(a) Publication of the rules and procedures by multiple sources if necessary so that every resident of the school district has access to information on the process for placing a name in nomination and voting at the caucus;

(b) Facilities for voting at the caucus which comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and which will accommodate a reasonably anticipated number of legal voters;

(c) Election security which will provide for a fair and impartial election, including the secrecy of the ballot, one vote per legal voter, and only legal voters of the school district being allowed to vote;

(d) Equal access to all legal voters of the school district, including the presence of an interpreter at the caucus at the expense of the school district and ballots for the blind and visually impaired to provide access to the process by all legal voters of the school district;

(e) Adequate time and opportunity for legal voters of the school district to exercise their right to vote; and

(f) Notification of nomination to the candidates and to the secretary of the school board.

The rules and regulations shall be approved by the election commissioner or county clerk prior to use for a caucus.