For the first time in years, Dallas ISD’s districtwide enrollment has held steady.
A preliminary count in the second week of school showed 139,138 students, about on par with last year’s 139,246. The district expects the number to rise through mid-September.
Dallas Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde shared the “unexpectedly good” enrollment numbers with school board trustees during last week’s meeting.
“We had 139,138 scholars,” she said. “That represents an increase of nearly 2,800 students over last year on the same day and more than 1,500 students over our projection.”
Elizalde said Dallas ISD had experienced 9 consecutive years of falling enrollment.
A decade ago, in the 2014-15 school year, Dallas’ enrollment was 160,148 — about 20,000 more students than today.
The decline represents a loss of more than $100 million in a state where education funding follows the student.
Elizalde attributed this year’s enrollment partly to a dramatic increase in pre-K and kindergarten enrollment.
“Which tells me that for the first time, probably since Covid, a lot of parents feel comfortable sending their little ones to our schools again,” she said.
She also praised the district’s P-TECH and early college high school programs, which have attracted and kept high school students. They offer free college credits while students are still in high school.
Some neighboring districts, including Richardson and Irving, have had to close schools because of declining enrollment. Statewide, though, numbers are up, from 5,371,581 students in 2021-22 to 5,531,230 last year as more families move to Texas.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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