Recent federal data on school enrollment adds more detail to the picture we have of the decline in the number of students in the country's public K-12 classrooms.
Most of the nation's 100 largest districts by enrollment have seen declines since the 2019-20 school year. The National Center for Education Statistics released its data for 2023-24 in December.
Nine of the 10 largest districts, including New York City, Los Angeles and Miami-Dade, have seen enrollment drop by up to 13 percent compared to the year COVID-19 first closed schools .
New York City's shrinking numbers are stabilizing, but it still has 100,000 fewer students than before the pandemic. The Empire Center for Public Policy think tank cites a confluence of factors that are leading to declining enrollment, including fertility rates, lower immigration, and an increase in homeschooling and microschools supported by parents' increased ability to work from home.
Students who speak a language other than English at home represented a Largest share of enrollment drop in Los Angeles than English-only students, as noted by the Public Policy Institute of California, likely driven by lower birth rates among Latinas.
It's a change that could affect funding for English learners in the future, according to a report from the institute: “Declining numbers could affect program offerings, making it more difficult to offer bilingual or dual immersion programs and /or translation services”.
Houston schools have also seen a drop in enrollment, which the superintendent attributes in part to criticism of the seizure of power by the state of the district – from 2019-20. Meanwhile, at least five of its neighboring school districts have more students enrolled compared to five years ago, with increases of up to nearly 14 percent.
The biggest enrollment growth since the start of the pandemic came from Idea Public Schools, a charter district in Texas, which reports an astonishing 55 percent increase from 2019-20. It had around 76,800 students at the end of 2023-24. Texas approved The district plans to expand with 10 additional campuses starting last March, shortly after the district was placed on a status guardianship after an investigation into his expenses.
In Nevada, state-sponsored charter schools collectively accounted for the second-largest enrollment growth rate in the country. Charter schools in Nevada have been closing constantly ranks second in the Battle Born state in enrollment, according to a Nevada Current analysis, and recently caused Washoe County's superintendent to worry that charter school expansion could lead to elementary school closures.
Melissa Mackedon, executive director of the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority, says parent demand is behind charter school enrollment growth.
“We now realize that education cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach,” Mackedon says. “Different students thrive in different circumstances. Charter space allows parents to have more voice and options in determining what is best for their students and they continue to demand more options.”
