Historical data from Waller ISD shows that in August 2025, there were 9,894 students enrolled.
So far this year, in August, there are already 11,467 students, and applications are taking longer to be processed.
Waller ISD Chief Communications Officer Sarah Marcus said every application is unique and takes time to process.
"What parent wouldn't be frustrated to have it take time? Everybody wants their baby to be in school on the first day. I totally understand that, and we are doing everything that we can to get them in as quickly as possible," Marcus said.
Waller ISD said since April, they've received 2,214 new applications; 118 of those have been submitted in the last week alone.
Leaders said they have approved only 1,716 so far and declined 109 for various reasons, mainly due to where they live.
"It's all hands on deck situation," Marcus said.
Last school year, the district said they welcomed 1,200 new students.
A recent study from Rice University's Kinder Institute shows the boost is in line with birth rates.
"When we looked at kindergarten births and compared it to kindergarten enrollment, and this was a few years ago, for every 100 kids that were born in Waller ISD, 120 were showing up for kindergarten," lead researcher Courtney Thrash said.
Thrash added that what the district is experiencing is not surprising.
"Over 10 years between 2013 and 2023, Waller ISD, the population living within Waller ISD increased by over 40%. They went from about 35,000 residents to 50,000 residents. And so that's incredible growth in 10 years. And so these school districts are having to basically play catch-up, right?" Thrash said.
The district said it's processing about 60 applications a day.