Texas Public Schools Lose 75,000 Students, Biggest 1.4% Drop Since COVID
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · May 12
Texas Public Schools Lose 75,000 Students, Biggest 1.4% Drop Since COVID
7 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 12
75,000 students left Texas public schools this year, Education Commissioner Mike Morath told lawmakers, marking only the second statewide enrollment contraction in 38 years and the biggest drop since the pandemic.
Declining birth rates, fewer young families moving into Texas, and more students shifting to private or out-of-state schools or homeschooling drove the slide; those exits total more than 55,000 a year.
Elementary grades absorbed 60% of the loss, signaling years of follow-on budget pressure for districts, while high schools accounted for 32% and middle schools 5%.
Region 18 around Midland-Odessa posted the steepest decline at 3.1%, followed by Amarillo at 3.0% and the Rio Grande Valley at 2.6%; Abilene was the only region to grow, up 3.9%.
Hispanic students made up four in five of the decline, and Texas 2036 projects the state could have about 100,000 fewer K-12 students by 2030, forcing lawmakers to rethink funding and policy.
With Texas funding an exodus from public schools, can the system financially survive losing half a million students?
While Texas schools empty out, why is the state's special education population simultaneously surging to crisis levels?
As dozens of Texas neighborhood schools go dark, what becomes of the communities and students left behind?
The 2025-26 Texas Enrollment Shock: Public School Decline, Voucher Controversy, and Funding Challenges
Overview
Texas public schools are approaching a major turning point as they face a sharp enrollment decline in the 2025-26 school year. This drop is driven by a mix of global trends, such as lower birth rates and demographic shifts, and state-level actions like the introduction of school choice and voucher programs. Despite Texas’s growing population, fewer students are entering public schools, especially among Hispanic, elementary, and low-income groups. These changes threaten school funding, lead to closures, and raise concerns about equity and the future of public education across the state.