page_title: State school
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: State school / By country and region / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: Stone plaque marking the site of the first public school in America. Located on First Church Green in Dedham, MA.
context_page_description: State schools, called public schools in North America and many other countries, are generally primary or secondary schools mandated for or offered to all children without charge, funded in whole or in part by taxation.
  While such schools are to be found in virtually every country, there are significant variations in their structure and educational programs. State education generally encompasses primary and secondary education, as well as post-secondary educational institutions such as universities, colleges, and technical schools that are funded and overseen by government rather than by private entities. The position before there were government-funded schools varied: in many instances there was an established educational system which served a significant, albeit often elite, sector of the population; these systems were often funded by religious institutions. The introduction of government-organised schools was in some cases able to build upon this established system, and often both systems have continued to exist, sometimes in a parallel and complementary relationship and other times less harmoniously.
context_section_description: In the United States, the term "state school" is colloquial for state university, a college, or a university in a state university system. Instead, the term "public school" is used for elementary, middle, and high schools funded and/or run by a governmental entity. "Private school" generally refers to primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions that are not government-owned; in practice the term is generally used to refer to non-sectarian schools.
  Elementary, middle, and high schools that are operated by a religious organisation are commonly called "parochial schools" (though, in practice, the term is generally used to refer only to schools operated by the Catholic Church or some other mainline denomination; the term "Christian school" is generally used to refer to schools operated by Evangelical, Pentecostal/Charismatic, or Fundamentalist Christian churches).
  The role of the federal government in education is limited and indirect. Direct control of education is a power reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution because the Constitution does not explicitly or implicitly give the federal government authority to regulate education. However, any public or private school that accepts educational funding from the federal government, including participation in collegiate federal financial aid programs (such as Pell Grants and Stafford Loans), by accepting the funds or participating in a particular federal program, subjects itself to federal jurisdiction to the extent of that participation.
  The United States Department of Education supervises the role of the federal government in education. Direct regulation of public, private and parochial schools is done by state and territorial governments; schools in Washington, D.C., are regulated by the District Government. Broad regulation of public schools is typically accomplished through a state education agency and a state department of education. There is usually a state superintendent of schools, who is appointed or elected to co-ordinate the state department of education, the state board of education, and the state legislature itself. Statewide education policies are disseminated to school "districts" or their equivalents. They are associated with counties, or with groups of counties, but their boundaries are not necessarily coterminous with county boundaries.  The intermediate school districts encompass many local school districts.  The local school districts operate with their own local boards, which oversee operations of the individual schools within their jurisdiction.
  In most states, the county or regional "intermediate" school districts merely implement state education policy and provide the channels through which a local district communicates with a state board of education, state superintendent, and department of education. They do not establish county or regional policies of their own.
  Local school districts are administered by local school boards, which operate public elementary and high schools within their boundaries. Public schools are often funded by local taxpayers, and most school boards are elected. However, some states have adopted new funding models that are not dependent upon the local economy.
  Public schools are provided mainly by local governments. Curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards by jurisdiction over school districts. The school districts are special-purpose districts authorised by provisions of state law. Generally, state governments set minimum standards relating to almost all activities of elementary and high schools, as well as funding and authorisation to enact local school taxes to support the schools, primarily through real property taxes. The federal government funds aid to states and school districts that meet minimum federal standards. School accreditation decisions are made by voluntary regional associations. The first free public school in America was the Syms-Eaton Academy (1634) in Hampton, Virginia, and the first tax-supported pub
caption: Stone plaque marking the site of the first public school in America in Dedham, Massachusetts
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