Chicago Public Schools enrollment drops by 11,500 students

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) enrollment has continued to decline rapidly this fall, dropping by more than 11,500 students compared to the previous year. The district now serves around 304,000 students, following the loss of approximately 76,000 pupils over the past decade. Despite this decline, CPS officials claimed they have reclaimed their third-largest district status in the country, overtaking Miami-Dade as other large urban districts across the nation face enrollment declines.

The impact of the decline has been felt most significantly on the West and South Sides, where small high schools experienced some of the steepest enrollment losses. A few of these schools lost over a fifth of their students, while two, Spry and Douglass, now have fewer than 40 students each. This decline has led community advocates, including the Chicago Teachers Union and several nonprofits, to call for a moratorium extension on school closures that is set to expire at the end of the 2026-27 school year.

They argue that school closures can destabilize neighborhoods and disproportionately affect Black students, as well as pointing to research showing a spike in gun violence near vacant school buildings.

While enrollment has stabilized in recent years following the arrival of migrant families in 2022, it has started declining again. The decrease can be attributed to falling birth rates, slower immigration, and mass outmigration from the city. CPS faces a growing number of severely underenrolled schools, many located in large, aging buildings, a situation that will only intensify as the moratorium on school closures expires.

Chicago's falling birth rates, which decreased by 37% between 2010 and 2023, are expected to continue exerting pressure on CPS enrollment. Additionally, the district has lost market share since the pandemic began, with a smaller portion of school-aged children opting to attend district schools instead of private schools or homeschooling.

Despite these challenges, CPS remains largely unchanged racially, with Latino students comprising around 46% of the student body, while the number of students with disabilities increased to over 18%. Low-income students make up nearly 70% of the district's enrollment, though a reduction in these numbers could occur as schools update demographic data.