Enrollment in public education continues to decline across Texas, state data shows

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Across the country, in Texas, and in Houston, fewer students are being enrolled in public schools, and experts expect the trend to continue.

Houston ISD families saw firsthand how drops in enrollment and increases in district expenses can manifest after district officials announced the closure of 12 campuses at the end of last school year.

"There is also a lot of pride around these schools; a lot of these schools have been here for a really long time, and they are the center of those communities," Baker Institute Fellow Bill King said.

King said new data from HISD's annual district demographic report shows the dozen campus closures likely won't be the last.

King said he found that during the 2024-25 school year, 51 HISD campuses were under 50% capacity, and that for the 2025-26 school year, that number rose to 63 campuses. The campuses with the least enrollment are mostly on Houston's east side.

It's not just Houston. Fort Bend, Cy-Fair, and Pasadena ISD all closed schools at the end of last school year.

"Spending money on air conditioning those buildings, trying to maintain that, that's money you're not spending on educating children," King said.

University of Houston education professor Duncan Klussmann said public school enrollment is dropping across the country. Klussmann said Texas used to get about 80,000 new students a year, but that migration has slowed drastically.

State data shows more families are choosing charter schools, homeschooling, and using the state's first-ever voucher dollars to send their children to private school.

"A combination of those things together, we are seeing for the first time a decrease in enrollment across systems, many who never saw that decrease before," Klussmann said.

Eyewitness News reached out to HISD to ask if there are plans to continue consolidating schools as enrollment drops, but they did not respond.

HISD has projected having around 4,000 fewer students for the 2026-27 school year, which the district expects will translate into a $50 million cut in state funding.