A school division is a geographic division over which a
school board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
has jurisdiction.
Canada
In Canada the term is used for the area controlled by a school board and is used interchangeably with
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, w ...
, including in the formal name of the board. For example, see
List of Alberta school boards
The Canadian province of Alberta has 379 school authorities, which are sometimes referred to as school boards, school districts, or school divisions. Types include public school, separate school and francophone school authorities. There are also ...
.
United States
In the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, the State Board of Education is charged unde
§ 22.1-25of the
Code of Virginia
The Code of Virginia is the statutory law of the U.S. state of Virginia, and consists of the codified legislation of the Virginia General Assembly. The 1950 Code of Virginia is the revision currently in force. The previous official versions we ...
with dividing the state into school divisions. A school division is typically coextensive with a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
or
independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
, although it is also possible for a school division to comprise a city and a neighboring county (e.g.,
Williamsburg and
James City County) or a single
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an o ...
(e.g.,
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
).
Although the term "school district" is popularly used, a school division in Virginia differs from a
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, w ...
in most states in the following key respect. Unlike school districts in most states, a Virginia school division is not a separate
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...
, but instead depends on appropriations and budget approvals from its associated general-purpose local government or governments (county, city, town). Legally, it is a
political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Virginia statute authorizes a school division to contract with a neighboring school division for school functions. One example of such an arrangement is in Northern Virginia, where the
City of Fairfax has contracted with surrounding
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
to run the schools owned by the city (see
Fairfax County Public Schools
The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's headq ...
).
See also
*
List of school divisions in Virginia
This is a complete list of school divisions in the U.S. state of Virginia, organized by the regions into which the Virginia Department of Education groups them.
About school divisions
Virginia's public K-12 schools are neither operated directly ...
External links
Virginia school divisions (contact information)
School districts in the United States
School districts