The Alabama State Board of Education is a nine-member body which authorizes the education policy for the state of Alabama. The governor is the ex officio president of the board. The remaining eight members are elected from single-member districts for four-year terms with no limit on the number of terms to which they may be elected. Members in Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 are elected in the same cycle as the U. S. President with their next election occurring in 2012. Members elected in Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 are elected in the same cycle as The Governor of Alabama with their next election occurring in 2014. A President Pro Tem and a Vice President are chosen among the eight board members to lead Board meetings in the absence of the Governor. The current elected eight members partisan line-up is six Republicans and two Democrats. The membership is five females and three males and two of the board members are African-American. A state Superintendent of Education is appointed by the board to serve as its secretary and executive officer.
Members of the board include:[1]