The school district boundaries are coterminous with the city of Harrisburg.

The Harrisburg City School District encompasses approximately 11 square miles (28 km2).

According to 2000 federal census data, it served a resident population of 48,950.

[1] Harrisburg public schools provide education for the city's youth, beginning with preschool through twelfth grade.

In July 2000, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling that upholds the Education Empowerment Act adopted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and signed by then–Governor Tom Ridge, that permitted a change in the governance of the Harrisburg School District from an elected school board, to a board of control named by Harrisburg mayor Stephen R. Reed, and which gave the mayor direct oversight of the troubled district.