Enrollment in California’s public schools continued to decline this year, but by only 0.25%, or 15,000 students, according to state data, a much slower pace than sharp declines in years difficult pandemic, when courses were compulsory online.
A total of 5,837,690 students were enrolled in the 2023-24 school year, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Education. In the 2020-2021 academic year, California saw the largest decline in 20 years, losing 160,000 students.
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Even if the exodus of students could be stopped, “I would say it’s the slimmest glimmer of hope,” said Thomas Dee, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. “The real story is that students have not returned and our schools still need to adapt to the new reality. »
Part of that decline is due to population loss during the pandemic as families left the state, but it is also due to families turning to private schools or home schooling. While many school districts hoped students would return once the pandemic eased, that does not appear to have happened.
Soberingly, the number of homeless students enrolled in public schools has continued to grow, with an increase of nearly 13 percent this year, or 23,609 more children.
“We are still facing the very serious consequences of the pandemic,” Dee said. In some districts, including Inglewood, San Francisco and Oakland, “genuinely painful discussions have begun about closing schools.”
But there was also a bright spot in the data: Enrollment in transitional kindergarten — the new, expanding year for 4-year-olds in California — doubled over the past two years, from 75,465 in 2021- 2022 to 151,491 in 2023-2024, the state wrote. in a press release.
The state did not provide separate TK enrollment numbers last year, but instead combined them with those for kindergarten students. TK enrollment was 98,000 in the 2019-2020 school year, before the pandemic declined and before the program was expanded to children younger than 4 years old.
“I am very grateful to see these exciting prospects for our early learners,” said State Supt. of Public Education Tony Thurmond. “We know how important it is to help every child read by third grade, and a critical part of that effort is ensuring our youngest students have support to develop healthily through their early years. years. »
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Gov. Gavin Newsom said he hopes 400,000 students will be enrolled in TK by 2025, when the program will be in full swing.
“It is encouraging to see that more families have heard about and feel comfortable enrolling their 4-year-olds in TK,” said Bruce Fuller, professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley . But the question, he says, is whether access to preschool statewide is actually expanding.
“TK is clearly attracting 4-year-olds to other programs,” including private preschools, Fuller said. California’s state preschool program, meanwhile, has lost 9,000 4-year-olds since 2021, and Head Start has lost 48,530 3- and 4-year-olds since 2018, according to a UC Berkeley report that is due out next month.
“Ideally, the government would expand access overall,” Fuller said.
This article is part of The Times’ early childhood education initiative, focused on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic backers, visit latimes.com/earlyed.
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