State enrollment declines, but TK doubles over two years In May, the California Department of Education released annual enrollment data for the 2023–24 school year, which showed a decrease in overall enrollment.

According to a CDE DataQuest report, there are 5,837,690 students enrolled in California schools based on the number of students enrolled on Census Day, the first Wednesday in October. That’s 14,854 fewer students than were enrolled in 2022-23.

In a news release, the CDE pointed to bright spots, which include a doubling of enrollment in transitional kindergarten over the last two years, from 75,465 in 2021–22 to 151,491 in 2023–24. This historic growth in TK reflects significant investment in early learning, including $500 million in Universal PreKindergarten Planning and Implementation Grants; a statewide communications campaign to raise awareness of free, public early learning programs; and state-level support of UPK expansion across California’s 1,000 school districts through coaching and technical assistance of UPK coordinators across the state.

“I am very grateful to see this exciting outlook for our earliest learners,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, in a news release. “We know how important it is for support for every child to read by third grade, and a critical part of that effort is to make sure that our youngest students are supported to have healthy development in their early years. This success is what can happen for our students when we effectively engage our families.”

According to the CDE, enrollment figures for charter schools and private schools do not show a corresponding increase when compared to the continued decrease in traditional public school enrollment.

This suggests that continually suppressed enrollment numbers more likely reflect family disengagement than school competition, underscoring the urgency of embedding family engagement resources and strategies across California’s public school systems.