This is a list of school districts in Kentucky, which has two types of public school districts. The first type, county school districts, typically cover all or a large part of a county, and are generally styled "XXXX County (Public) Schools." The second type, "independent" districts, usually encompass cities or groups of cities. These have several different styles, but with one detail in common—"County" is nowhere to be found in the district name. All independent districts operate within a single county, with the following exceptions:

  • Burgin, which mainly serves a single city in Mercer County, but also includes a very small part of Boyle County.
  • Caverna, which serves two adjoining cities on separate sides of the boundary between Barren and Hart Counties
  • Corbin, which serves a single city divided between Whitley and Knox Counties.
  • Eminence, which mainly serves a single city in Henry County, but also includes a very small part of Shelby County.

All county districts operate schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. Most independent districts also do so; however, four do not operate high schools. These districts have agreements in place with one or more nearby school districts to allow their students to attend high schools in the other district(s). If a district does not operate high schools, the district(s) that its students will go to at that level will be noted below it.

All school districts organized under Kentucky law are independent governments. There are no public school systems under Kentucky law dependent on another layer of government like a county government or a municipal government.

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) operates schools for military dependents at two major United States Army bases in Kentucky, Fort Campbell and Fort Knox. DoDEA has organized a Kentucky-specific district to administer the schools on those bases (although some of the Fort Campbell schools are physically located in Tennessee).

Multi-County

  • Central Kentucky Education Cooperative
  • Green River Regional Educational Cooperative
  • KEDC Special Education Cooperative
  • Kentucky District, DoDEA Americas
  • Kentucky Educational Development Corporation
  • Kentucky Tech Schools (16 schools)

Barren County

  • Barren County Schools
  • Caverna Independent School District
  • Glasgow Independent Schools

Bell County

  • Bell County Schools
  • Middlesboro Independent Schools
  • Pineville Independent School

Boone County

  • Boone County Schools
  • Walton-Verona Independent Schools

Bourbon County

  • Bourbon County Schools
  • Paris Independent Schools

Boyd County

  • Ashland Independent School District
  • Boyd County Public Schools
  • Fairview Independent Schools

Boyle County

  • Boyle County Schools
  • Burgin Independent Schools (a tiny portion)
  • Danville Schools

Bracken County

  • Augusta Independent Schools
  • Bracken County Schools

Breathitt County

  • Breathitt County Schools
  • Jackson Independent School District

Breckinridge County

  • Breckinridge County Schools
  • Cloverport Independent Schools

Calloway County

  • Calloway County Schools
  • Murray Independent School District

Campbell County

  • Bellevue Independent Schools
  • Campbell County Schools
  • Dayton Independent Schools
  • Fort Thomas Independent Schools
  • Newport Independent Schools
  • Southgate Independent Schools
  • The Southgate district does not operate a high school. It has reciprocal agreements with most, if not all, other districts within Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties to allow Southgate students to attend high school in those districts. According to a 2015 report by the Legislative Research Commission, the research arm of the Kentucky General Assembly, most Southgate high school students in the 2013–14 school year attended Highlands High School in the Fort Thomas district, with a large minority attending Newport High School in that city's district. Six other Southgate students were attending high school in five other districts.

Daviess County

  • Daviess County Public Schools
  • Owensboro Public Schools

Franklin County

  • Frankfort Independent Schools
  • Franklin County Public Schools

Fulton County

  • Fulton County Schools (Kentucky)
  • Fulton Independent Schools (Kentucky)

Grant County

  • Grant County Schools
  • Williamstown Independent Schools

Graves County

  • Graves County Schools
  • Mayfield Independent Schools

Greenup County

  • Greenup County Schools
  • Raceland-Worthington Independent Schools
  • Russell Independent Schools

Hardin County

  • Elizabethtown Independent Schools
  • Hardin County Schools

Harlan County

  • Harlan County Public Schools
  • Harlan Independent Schools

Hart County

  • Caverna Independent School District
  • Hart County Schools

Henry County

  • Eminence Independent Schools
  • Henry County Schools

Hopkins County

  • Dawson Springs Independent Schools
  • Hopkins County Schools

Jefferson County

  • Anchorage Independent Schools
  • The Anchorage district does not operate a high school. It has reciprocal agreements with both Jefferson County Public Schools and Oldham County Schools that allow Anchorage students to apply for admission to any high school in either district.