List of school districts in Iowa

This is a list of school districts in Iowa, sorted by Area Education Agencies (AEA). Districts are listed by their official names, though several schools use "Schools" in their name or website rather than "Community School District". , this list has not been expanded to include former school districts.

School districts have several classifications. They are counted as separate governments by the U.S. Census Bureau. Iowa has no school systems dependent on another layer of government.

Background In the early 1900s the state had 4,873 school districts. The state government passed the Consolidated School of Law of 1906 and this figure fell to 4,863 in 1908, 4,839 in 1922, and 4,558 in 1953. That year some additional laws were passed that contributed to reducing this further, and so this fell further to 458 as of July 1, 1965; that year another law made providing a high school mandatory for a school district, which meant school districts that had one room schoolhouses were required to consolidate. The deadline for such mergers to be finalized was April 1, 1966, with mergers themselves to occur on July 1 of that year.

By July 1, 1980, the number of districts was down to 443. In 1984, there were 437 school districts in the state that operated high schools. In 1990 the total number of school districts was 430. In fall 1995 the number of school districts operating high schools was down to 353, and in 1995 670 was the median enrollment K-12 of an Iowa school district. An Iowa Department of Education consultant named Guy Ghan referred to the 1990s school district mergers as the "third wave".

The total number of school districts was 365 on July 1, 2005. In the 2016–2017 school year there were 333 school districts, an 11% decrease from the same figure in 2000.

Circa the 1980s school districts began agreements to share resources, such as particular employees, or "whole grade sharing" (where students of one or more grade levels are sent to a different school district to get their education). In 2005 Tom Vilsack, the Governor of Iowa, proposed that requirements for school districts to have certain numbers of students or sharing employees as ways of reducing local government spending, though Vilsack never enacted those requirements. In 2007 Josh Nelson of The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier wrote that "Lately, consolidation hasn't been as big of an issue compared to previous years."

By 2016 population losses in rural areas have fueled further school district consolidations. By 2017 there had been school districts that had formed from different generations of school consolidations. By 2024, there were 325 public school districts.

Central Rivers AEA Black Hawk County

Cedar Falls Community School District Dunkerton Community School District (also extends into Bremer County) Hudson Community School District Union Community School District Waterloo Community School District

Bremer County

Denver Community School District (also extends into Black Hawk County) Janesville Consolidated Community School District (also extends into Black Hawk County) Sumner-Fredericksburg Community School District (also extends into Chickasaw and Fayette Counties) Tripoli Community School District (also extends into Chickasaw Counties) Wapsie Valley Community School District (also extends into Buchanan County) Waverly-Shell Rock Community School District (also extends into Black Hawk and Butler Counties)

Buchanan County

East Buchanan Community School District Independence Community School District (Iowa) (also extends into Benton County) Jesup Community School District (also extends into Black Hawk County)

Butler County

Aplington–Parkersburg Community School District (also extends into Grundy County) Clarksville Community School District North Butler Community School District (also extends into Floyd County)

Cerro Gordo County

Clear Lake Community School District Mason City Community School District West Fork Community School District (also extends into Franklin County)

Chickasaw County Nashua-Plainfield Community School District (also extends into Bremer, Butler and Floyd Counties)

Floyd County

Charles City Community School District Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School District

Franklin County

CAL Community School District Hampton–Dumont Community School District

Grundy County

BCLUW Community School District Dike–New Hartford Community School District (also extends into Butler County) Gladbrook–Reinbeck Community School District (also extends into Tama County) Grundy Center Community School District

Hancock County

Garner–Hayfield–Ventura Community School District (also extends into Cerro Gordo County) West Hancock Community School District (also extends into Wright County)

Hardin County

AGWSR Community School District (also extends into Franklin County) Alden Community School District (also extends into Franklin County) Eldora–New Providence Community School District Hubbard–Radcliffe Community School District Iowa Falls Community School District (also extends into Franklin County)

Marshall County

East Marshall Community School District Marshalltown Community School District West Marshall Community School District (also extends into Story County)

Mitchell County

Osage Community School District St. Ansgar Community School District

Poweshiek County

Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Community School District Grinnell–Newburg Community School District (also extends into Jasper County) Montezuma Community School District

Tama County

GMG Community School District North Tama County Community School District South Tama County Community School District

Winnebago County

Forest City Community School District (also extends into Hancock County) Lake Mills Community School District North Iowa Community School District

Worth County

Central Springs Community School District (also extends into Cerro Gordo, Floyd and Mitchell Counties) Northwood-Kensett Community School District

Wright County Belmond–Klemme Community School District (also extends into Hancock County)

Grant Wood AEA Benton County

Belle Plaine Community School District (also extends into Iowa, Powesheik and Tama Counties) Benton Community School District Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District

Cedar County North Cedar Community School District (of Stanwood) (also extends into Jones County) Tipton Community School District West Branch Community School District (also extends into Johnson County)

Iowa County

English Valleys Community School District (also extends into Keokuk and Poweshiek Counties) H-L-V Community School District (also extends into Poweshiek County) Iowa Valley Community School District Williamsburg Community School District

Johnson County

Clear Creek–Amana Community School District (also extends into Iowa County) Iowa City Community School District Lone Tree Community School District Solon Community School District (also extends into Linn County)

Jones County

Anamosa Community School District Midland Community School District Monticello Community School District Olin Consolidated Community School District

Linn County

Alburnett Community School District Cedar Rapids Community School District Center Point-Urbana Community School District Central City Community School District College Community School District (of Cedar Rapids) (also extends into Benton and Johnson Counties) Linn-Mar Community School District (of Marion) Lisbon Community School District Marion Independent School District Mount Vernon Community School District (also extends into Johnson and Jones Counties) North Linn Community School District (of Troy Mills) Springville Community School District

Washington County

Highland Community School District (also extends into Johnson County) Mid-Prairie Community School District (also extends into Iowa and Johnson Counties) Washington Community School District (also extends into Jefferson Counties)

Great Prairie AEA Appanoose County

Centerville Community School District Moravia Community School District (also extends into Monroe County) Moulton-Udell Community School District

Davis County Davis County Community School District

Des Moines County

Burlington Community School District Danville Community School District (also extends into Henry County) Mediapolis Community School District (also extends into Louisa County) West Burlington Independent School District

Henry County

Mount Pleasant Community School District (also extends into Jefferson, Lee and Van Buren Counties) New London Community School District (also extends into Des Moines County) WACO Community School District (also extends into Louisa and Washington Counties) Winfield-Mt. Union Community School District (also extends into Des Moines, Louisa and Washington Counties)

Jefferson County

Fairfield Community School District (also extends into Henry, Van Buren, Wappello and Washington Counties) Pekin Community School District

Keokuk County

Keota Community School District (also extends into Washington Counties) Sigourney Community School District Tri-County Community School District (also extends into Mahaska and Poweshiek Counties)

Lee County

Central Lee Community School District Fort Madison Community School District (also extends into Henry County) Keokuk Community School District

Louisa County

Morning Sun Community School District (also extends into Des Moines County) Wapello Community School District (also extends into Des Moines County)

Lucas County Chariton Community School District

Mahaska County

North Mahaska Community School District (also extends into Poweshiek County) Oskaloosa Community School District

Monroe County Albia Community School District

Van Buren County Van Buren County Community School District

Wapello County

Cardinal Community School District (also extends into Davis, Jefferson and Van Buren Counties) Eddyville–Blakesburg–Fremont Community School District (also extends into Mahaska and Monroe Counties) Ottumwa Community School District

Wayne County

Seymour Community School District Wayne Community School District

Green Hills AEA Adair County

Nodaway Valley Community School District Orient-Macksburg Community School District (also extends into Madison County)

Adams County Corning Community School District

Carroll County IKM–Manning Community School District (also extends into Crawford and Shelby Counties)

Cass County

Atlantic Community School District (also extends into Audubon and Pottawattamie Counties) CAM Community School District (also extends into Adair, Adams and Audubon Counties) Griswold Community School District (also extends into Montgomery and Pottawattamie Counties)

Clarke County

Clarke Community School District Murray Community School District

Decatur County

Central Decatur Community School District Lamoni Community School District

Fremont County

Fremont–Mills Community School District (also extends into Mills County) Hamburg Community School District Sidney Community School District

Harrison County

Boyer Valley Community School District (also extends into Crawford County) Logan–Magnolia Community School District Missouri Valley Community School District (also extends into Pottawattamie County) West Harrison Community School District Woodbine Community School District (also extends into Monona and Shelby Counties)

Mills County

East Mills Community School District (also extends into Montgomery County) Glenwood Community School District (also extends into Pottawattamie County)

Montgomery County

Red Oak Community School District (also extends into Page and Pottawattamie Counties) Stanton Community School District (also extends into Page County) Villisca Community School District (also extends into Adams, Page and Taylor Counties)

Page County