(Des Moines, IA) -- A new report finds Iowa public school enrollment fell by 6,500 students from the 2020-2021 school year. It is the first enrollment decline in roughly a decade. The findings are in the latest Condition of Education report released today (Friday). Enrollment fell from 490,094 in 2019-20 to 484,159 in 2020-21.
Jay Pennington, bureau chief of information and analysis services for the Iowa Department of Education says roughly 4,000 students were pre-K or Kindergarten students. He says state educators suspect that pandemic-related instruction changes factored into parents' decision to keep their youngest students at home.
Pennington says the department projects districts will see enrollment bounce back, at least partially. He notes, however, Iowa birth rates have been declining, which is expected to factor into a trend of decreasing enrollment, unless there are population gains. He also notes that one-third of the districts saw enrollment gains, largely in suburban school districts.
He also notes the number of home schooled students has risen from around 7,000 to 8,700.
The Condition of Education report addresses several issues in public education, most of which saw little change compared to previous reports.