A school district is the territory covered by one or more public schools administered by a school council responsible for one or more of these territories, which may be one or several entire municipalities or just part of one.

The school district is the form adopted by educational administration in countries such as the United States of America, Canada and Ecuador.

It is a single political body, equivalent to that of a city or a county, since they have variable powers, such as collecting taxes, for example.

School districts have a legislative body, called a school board, board of trustees, or school committee, whose members are elected through internal or general elections.

These members, in turn, have the responsibility of electing a superintendent (supervisor), usually a highly qualified teacher, to act as the executive head of the council, also responsible for making decisions and implementing policies. At times, the district may act as a judiciary, applying sanctions to employees or students.

The United States has more than 14,000 school districts,[1]​ which operate public schools, hire teachers, generate funding for schools, establish local policies, and enforce the laws and policies of their American states. School boards, which will consist of local residents, manage the school districts.[2]​.

In the United States, not all public education systems constitute school districts as distinct bodies. In some states, such as Maryland, all school systems are subordinate to the state government. Other states, such as New York ("New York (state)"), have school districts controlled by public bodies and independent school systems, subordinate to a county or a city.

School districts in the Midwest and West often have boundaries that cross the boundaries of cities, townships, and unincorporated areas. Mid-Atlantic and New England school districts often have boundaries that coincide with city, township, and/or county boundaries.[1]​.

In 2002, in the United States there were 13,506 school districts, 178 school systems administered directly by the State, 1,330 school systems administered directly by the city or county where they operate, and 1,196 education agencies.

Currently the largest school districts in the US are the New York Unified School District (the New York City Department of Education) and the Los Angeles Unified School District (the Los Angeles Unified School District).