Dallas ISD’s enrollment has slipped, and immigration policies may have had a hand in it, Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said as the district began the new school year Tuesday.
“Certainly, some policies regarding immigration have had an impact,” Elizalde said at a news conference at Victor H. Hexter Elementary School. “We think this year we’re probably going to level off.”
Elizalde said this school year’s enrollment figures are not yet available.
“We are prepared to receive as many students as come through our doors,” Elizalde said.
The district’s enrollment has been on a downward trajectory for the last decade, save a small increase in the 2024-25 school year. Last school year, Dallas ISD had over 134,000 students, down 3% from the previous year. Since 2015, Dallas ISD has consistently lost over 1,000 students per year, with a large dip in 2020 due to the pandemic.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump repealed a Biden-era policy that protected certain spaces — including schools and churches — from immigration enforcement.
Dallas ISD, the second-largest district in the state by enrollment, isn’t the only district seeing fewer students. Enrollment in Fort Worth ISD has also dropped significantly in the last decade, and it saw a 4% decrease from 2024 to 2025. Other North Texas school districts, like Richardson ISD and Irving ISD, follow similar trends.
Other factors that could influence enrollment are the Texas’ new school choice program, wherein the state subsidizes private school tuition or homeschooling. Over 2,500 students living in Dallas ISD boundaries and 1,500 students in Fort Worth ISD boundaries will participate in the program, though not all of them are necessarily switching from public to private school.
Demographic trends, like declining birth rates and fewer children in Texas, could also contribute to lower enrollment in public schools. At the state level, public school enrollment saw a decline of 76,000 students in 2025 — a 1.4% drop — making it the largest enrollment dip in Texas outside of the pandemic, according to the nonpartisan think tank Texas 2036.
Elizalde said Tuesday she doesn’t expect a large change in enrollment this year for her district, but hopes new Dallas ISD initiatives, like its universal pre-K program, will draw in more families.
Dallas ISD, along with dozens of other area districts, had their first day of school this week. While Fort Worth entered the new school year under state takeover, others, like Dallas and Irving ISD opened new campuses.
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