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Aschool district is aspecial-purpose district that operates local publicprimary orsecondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school district and is used to assign students to schools in a district and not to determine government authority.[1]
In the U.S., most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts. A school district usually operates severalelementary,middle, andhigh schools. The largest urban and suburban districts operate hundreds of schools. While practice varies significantly by state (and in some cases, within a state), most American school districts operate as independent local governmental units under a grant of authority and within geographic limits created by state law.[2] The executive and legislative power over locally-controlled policies and operations of an independent school district are, in most cases, held by a school district's board of education. Depending on state law, members of a local board of education (often referred to informally as a school board) may be elected, appointed by a political office holder, serveex officio, or a combination of any of these.
An independent school district is a legally separatebody corporate and political. Most school districts operate as independent local governmental units with exclusive authority over K–12 public educational operations and policies. The extent of their control is set by state-level law. Litigation against school districts is common and some law firms specialize in education law. Districts typically maintain professional liability insurance in order to pay its settlements and legal liabilities.[2] As of 2023[update] in most U.S. states, public school districts may lay taxes to fund their operations.[3] In others, such asMaine, some school districts are able to lay taxes and others are not.[3]
Independent school districts often exercise authority over a school system that is separate but similar to atown's or acounty's powers. These include the power to enter contacts, useeminent domain, and to issue binding rules and regulations affecting school policies and operations. The power of school districts to tax and spend is generally more limited. For example, many school districts inNew York state require a majority of voters living in the district or the local government to approval their annual budget, butschool districts inVirginia have no taxing authority and must depend on another local government (county, city, or town) for funding. A district's governing body, usually called aschool board, is typically elected by direct popular vote but may be appointed by other governmental officials. The governing body might also be known as a "board of trustees", "board of education", "school committee", etc.. This body usually appoints or hires an experienced public school administrator to function as the district'ssuperintendent of schools – a district'schief executive. The superintendent oversees daily operations, decisions and implements the policies of the board. The school board may also exercise aquasi-judicial function in seriousemployee orstudentdiscipline matters.
School districts in theMidwest andWest tend to cross municipal boundaries, while school districts inNew England and theMid-Atlantic regions tend to adhere to city, township, or county boundaries.[4] As of 1951[update] school districts were independent governmental units in 26 states, while in 17 states there were mixes of independent school districts and school districts subordinate to other local governments. In nine states there were only school districts subordinate to local governments.[5]
In most Southern states, school systems operate either as an arm of county government or at least share coextensive boundaries with the state's counties. A 2010 study by economist William A. Fischel found that "two-thirds of medium-to-large American cities have boundaries that substantially overlap those of a single school district" with substantial regional and state variations in the degree of overlap, "ranging from nearly perfect congruence inNew England, New Jersey, and Virginia, to hardly any in Illinois, Texas, and Florida."[6] Older and more populous municipalities "tend to have boundaries that closely match those of a single school district."[6] Noting that most modern school districts were formed by consolidatingone-room school districts in the first seven decades of the 20th century, Fischel argues that "outside the South, these consolidations were consented to by local voters" who "preferred districts whose boundaries conformed to their everyday interactions rather than formal units of government" and that "[t]he South ended up with county-based school districts becausesegregation imposeddiseconomies of scale on district operations and required larger land-area districts."[6]
InNew York, mostschool districts are separate governmental units with the power to levy taxes and incur debt, except for the five cities with a population of over 125,000 (Buffalo,Rochester,Syracuse,Yonkers, andNew York City), where the schools are operated directly by the municipalities.[7]
TheHawaii State Department of Education functions as a single statewide school district, unique among states.[8][9][a]
According to a 2021 study, the demographics of voters who elect local school boards in the United States tend to be different from the demographics of the students. This difference is "most pronounced in majority nonwhite jurisdictions and school districts with the largestracial achievement gaps."[10]
There were 130,000 school districts in the country in 1930, with an average student population of 150.[11] From 1942 to 1951 the number of school districts declined from 108,579 to 70,452, a decrease of 38,127 or 35%.[12] Many states had passed laws facilitating school district consolidation. In 1951 the majority of the school districts in existence were rural school districts only providing elementary education, and some school districts did not operate schools but instead provided transportation to other schools. TheMidwest had a large number of rural school districts.[5]
Previously areas of theUnorganized Borough ofAlaska were not served by school districts but instead served by schools directly operated by theAlaska Department of Education and byBureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. The state schools were transferred to the Alaska State-Operated School System (SOS) after theAlaska Legislature created it in 1971; that agency was terminated in 1975, with its schools transferred to the newly created Alaska Unorganized Borough School District, which was broken apart into twenty-one school districts the following year.[13]
In the 2022 Census of Governments, theUnited States Census Bureau enumerated the following numbers of school systems in the United States:[14]
School districts in the US have reduced the number of their employees by 3.3%, or 270,000 between 2008 and 2012, owing to a decline in property tax revenues during and after theGreat Recession.[15] By 2016 there were about 13,000 school districts, and the average student population was about 5,000.[11]
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Although these terms can vary slightly between various states and regions, these are typical definitions for school district constitution:
These terms may not appear in a district's name, even though the condition may apply.
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InEngland and Wales,school boards were established in 1870, and abolished in 1902, with thecounty council andcounty borough councils becoming thelocal education authorities.[24]
In France, the system of thecarte scolaire was dismantled by the beginning of the 2007 school year. More school choice has been given to French students; however, priority is given to those who meet the following criteria:
InGermany, schools and teachers are predominately funded by thestates of Germany, which also are in control of the overall education policies. On the other hand, school buildings are mostly run and funded bymunicipal governments on different levels of the municipal system (municipalities proper, districts), depending on the size and specialization of a certain school or the population size of a certain municipality. As with other fields of government, for more specialized schools, special government bodies ("Zweckverband") can be established, where municipalities, and not voters, are members; these are to a certain degree comparable to a school district. Other arrangements are possible: certain types ofspecial schools inNorth Rhine-Westphalia are run by theLandschaftsverbände. There also existprivate schools, mostly funded by the States, but run by private entities like churches or foundations.
InItaly, school districts were established in 1974 by the "Provvedimenti Delegati sulla scuola" ("Assigned Laws [to the Government] about the school").[25] Each district must contain a minimum of 10,000 inhabitants. The national government attempted to link the local schools with local society and culture and local governments. The school districts were dissolved in 2003 by the "legge finanziaria" (law about the government budget) in an attempt to trim the national budget.[26]
In the Republic of Ireland, 16Education and Training Boards (ETBs) administera minority of secondary schools, a few primary schools, andmuch further education. (Most schools are neither organized geographically nor publicly managed, although theDepartment of Education inspects and funds them and pays teachers' salaries.) Each ETB area comprises one or morelocal authority areas, with city or county councilors forming the bulk of the ETB board. The ETBs was formed in 2005 by amalgamatingVocational Education Committees established in 1930, also based on local government areas.
InHong Kong, theEducation Bureau dividesprimary schools into 36 districts, known as school nets, for itsPrimary One Admission System.[27] Of the 36 districts, districts 34 and 41 inKowloon and districts 11 and 12 inHong Kong Island are considered the most prestigious.[28]
In Iranian cities school kids normal registrations are limited by school districts, register is online at my.medu.ir and the parent sees schools within range online.[29]
