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California K-12 Enrollment Drops 1.3%, Down 74,961 Students

District budgets, tied to daily attendance, now face shortfalls.

Overview

  • The California Department of Education reported statewide enrollment at about 5.7 million after a loss of 74,961 students, a 1.3% drop.
  • Los Angeles County accounted for 32,953 fewer students, with LAUSD issuing 3,200 layoff notices in February that officials expect to yield about 650 job losses.
  • Transitional kindergarten for 4-year-olds grew 20.1%, adding about 36,000 children for a total of 213,313 after full rollout.
  • Private schools fell 6.6% and homeschools 3.7%, while traditional public schools slipped 1.4% and charter schools 0.3%.
  • State officials link the slide to fewer births and a sharp drop in immigration to California, with Census data showing arrivals fell to 109,278 from 312,761 between 2024 and 2025.