California Department of Education released data on Thursday (16th) showing a decrease of 75,000 students in the TK-12 grades for the 2025-26 school year in California, marking the largest annual decline in nearly five years (since the 2021-22 school year). Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) saw a reduction of nearly 17,000 students, a decrease of 4.5%.
Research and analysis suggest that the decrease in California’s student population is attributed not only to the continuous decline in US birth rates but also to federal immigration enforcement and residents relocating due to the pressure of living costs.
According to the data, the enrollment rate for TK-12 grades in California decreased by 1.3% last year. Among them, enrollment in private schools decreased by 6.6%, homeschooling with fewer than 6 students decreased by 3.7%, traditional public schools decreased by 1.4%, and charter public schools decreased by 0.3%.
There are 80 school districts in Los Angeles County, where the student attrition this academic year reached 32,953 students (2.6%), accounting for 43% of the total number of students lost in California. More than half of the lost students came from LAUSD. This district, the second-largest in the US and the largest in California, had 353,065 students enroll this academic year, compared to 369,830 students in the previous academic year, a decrease of 16,765 students or 22.4% of California’s lost student population.
In the English Learner program in the district, there were 157,000 students in 2018, which decreased to 62,000 students this year, although this could be due to students being reclassified after improving their English proficiency.
The five districts in Southern California with the highest number of lost students, apart from LAUSD, are San Diego Unified School District, Long Beach Unified School District in LA County, and Fontana Unified School District in San Bernardino County. The district with the highest decrease is Santa Ana Unified School District in Orange County, which lost 2,291 students, a decrease of 6.4%.
However, some districts saw an increase in enrollment, with the largest increases occurring in counties in Northern California and the Central Valley. Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) in Sacramento County added 1,097 students (1.7%), and Vacaville Unified School District in Solano County added 557 students (4.9%).
In terms of the ethnicities of lost students, compared to the previous academic year, the largest losses were among Hispanic or Latino students, totaling 48,064, followed by 31,076 White students (2.7%).
The trend of declining enrollment in California aligns with the national trend: over the past 5 years, enrollment in K-12 public schools in the US decreased by 2.3%, equivalent to a reduction of 1.18 million students, with no signs of recovery in the schools losing students. It is predicted that national enrollment will further decrease by 5.5% in 5 years by 2031, reducing by 2.7 million students.
Chris Duncombe, Head of the Interstate Education Commission, analyzed that the main reason for the decline in public school student numbers in the US is the decreasing birth rate. It is estimated that by 2024, the number of newborns in the US decreased by 670,000 compared to 2007.
The Los Angeles Times reported that officials from LAUSD stated in a statement that factors contributing to student attrition include the housing affordability for Californians and the impact of federal immigration enforcement policies. Thomas S. Dee, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a researcher at the Hoover Institute, mentioned that his research found that immigration enforcement leads some individuals to avoid schools and hinders the enrollment of new immigrants.
Elizabeth Sanders, Director of Communications and Public Relations at the California Department of Education, stated to educational news media EdSource that they found a direct link between the suitability of the economic environment for family living and the location where students enroll.
The decrease in enrollment will directly affect the amount of funds allocated by the state government to public schools, putting pressure on these schools to face budget deficits and layoffs.
Due to financial pressure, LAUSD issued notices in February to lay off 3,200 people. On Tuesday of this week, before the strike by the district’s education staff, the three labor unions at the district reached preliminary agreements with increases in wages at 24% (three-year term), 13.86%, and 11.65% (two-year term), respectively. Additionally, the district promised to hire an additional 450 psychologists, social workers, and counselors.