<p>Science education is widely recognized as a cornerstone for enhancing national competitiveness and cultivating innovative talent. The practical challenges and evolving demands of science education in schools render boundary-spanning collaboration increasingly imperative. In China, a series of policy documents have underscored the necessity of interdepartmental cooperation and multi-level accountability to establish science education as a collective responsibility of schools, government, and society. However, policy effectiveness inevitably attenuates during transmission through hierarchical administrative structures. Against this backdrop, this research investigates District P in Shanghai, drawing on 20 in-depth interviews with education officials and school administrators, complemented by an analysis of relevant public documents. Informed by these data and a theoretical framework grounded in hierarchical governance and networks, the study reveals a situational interaction between hierarchical management and boundary-spanning networks within the district’s science education governance system. The top-down hierarchical system is instrumental in fostering an overall social atmosphere for science education and mobilizing social resources, yet it also exhibits structural fractures, including misaligned demands, insufficient incentives, and ineffective accountability. Concurrently, schools have developed three types of boundary-spanning science education networks: symbolical-linked networks, transaction-oriented reciprocal networks and value-driven networks, though only the latter two serve a substantive bridging role. This study provides important insights for innovating regional governance mechanisms and shared responsibility frameworks in basic science education.</p>