Report finds Chicago Public Schools enrollment dips to 21st century low

A new report found fewer children are attending Chicago Public Schools, and it's not just because families are having fewer kids overall.

The study from nonprofit organization Kids First Chicago is on the third part of a long-term study on declining CPS enrollment and the force behind it. The group found that since 2018, enrollment of school-aged children in CPS dipped to 71%, or 18,000 fewer students.

For the 2024-2025 school year, the study found only 316,224 children were in rolled in public school in Chicago. The district's 21st century high was 438,589 in 2002-03.

Compared to last school year, CPS had more than 9,000 fewer students enrolled on the 20th day of school that the year before., following two years of modest gains after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Much of the decline is attributed to people moving out of Chicago, but the study also found private schools now serve a greater share of school-aged children.

Enrollment declines have been the largest on the city's South and West Sides.