{"id":1012,"date":"2026-05-11T19:01:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=1012"},"modified":"2026-05-11T19:01:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:01:17","slug":"texas-school-enrollment-sees-second-largest-historic-drop-falls-below-5-5-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=1012","title":{"rendered":"Texas school enrollment sees second-largest historic drop, falls below 5.5 million"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Texas public school enrollment has fallen below 5.5 million students this year, marking the second-largest decline in the state\u2019s recent history, according to data from the Texas Education Agency and analysis by Texas 2036.<\/p>

Read more The Woodlands man arrested in Harris County for online solicitation of a minor<\/a><\/p>

The enrollment dip for the 2025-26 school year represents a 1.4% decrease from the previous year. It is the first year-over-year decline since the 2020-21 school year, when enrollment plummeted 2.2% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>

The decline was driven largely by a sharp drop in Hispanic student enrollment and a shrinking number of children in elementary grades. Of the 76,613 total students lost across the state system, 61,781 were Hispanic. This group, which represents the largest demographic in Texas public schools, accounted for 81% of the total enrollment decline.<\/p>

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Regional Shifts and Demographic Trends<\/h3>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

The impact of the enrollment decline was felt unevenly across the state’s 20 Education Service Center (ESC) regions. While some areas saw total growth, others experienced contraction across nearly every major ethnic group.<\/p>