Mississippi public schools enrollment down 23k

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi’s educational system is starting to show the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and families.

A sneak peek of preliminary numbers from Mississippi Department of Education shows a big decline in kindergarten enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year and a sharp increase in homeschoolers.

Exactly 442,627 students had enrolled in Mississippi public schools as of September 30, 2020, a more than 23,000 drop from last September’s total of 465,913.

MDE says the following factors contributed to the decline:

4,345 fewer kindergartens enrolled in 2020-21, compared to the same time last year. Over the previous three years (2017-18 to 2019-20) kindergarten enrollment dropped by a cumulative total of 1,015 students.
Homeschool enrollment increased from 18,758 last year to 25,489 this year, removing an additional 6,731 students from public-school attendance rolls.
1,603 students enrolled in school after September 30, compared to 208 late registrants last year.
Mississippi public-school enrollment has been declining annually, dropping an average of 5,511 students each year over the past three years.

MDE says other factors that contribute to enrollment declines include students moving out of state and students entering private schools.

State education leaders say Mississippi’s School Attendance Officers (SAO) have been working with districts to ensure all compulsory school-age children whose families have not re-enrolled them in local public schools are registered in a learning environment. SAOs work to secure documentation for every student who leaves public school to validate their status. As of December 3, 2020, SAOs have validated the status of all but 1,156 students. That figure is similar to previous years.

State law requires children ages 6-17 to be enrolled in public or private school or a homeschool program. Families who enroll their 5-year-olds in kindergarten are also subject to the attendance law.

“Mississippi school districts have been working under extraordinary conditions to ensure all students in their communities are engaged in learning,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. “Teachers, principals, districts leaders, school attendance officers and families have done a heroic job meeting the daily challenges of the pandemic.”

Annual state- and district-level enrollment data as of September 30 is posted on the MDE public reporting website: newreports.mdek12.org.