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Monday, Jun. 23, 2025

Are Colorado school districts seeing declining enrollment? 

Por Jaijongkit, The Colorado Sun
yes

Colorado public school enrollment has declined 3.5% over the past five years, dropping the number of students in classrooms statewide to the lowest point in more than a decade. 

Enrollment trended upward until the 2019-2020 school year, reaching a peak of 913,000 students, Colorado Department of Education data shows. Enrollment during the 2024-2025 academic year was 881,065, declining by 400 students from a year earlier, for a 0.1% decrease. 

School districts across the Denver metro have seen almost 27,000 fewer students, or a 5.35% decrease, in the past decade. Jefferson County saw the sharpest decline during that period, losing over 11,000 students, or roughly 13% of its student body. 

Most of the declines are seen in early elementary grades while fifth, sixth, 11th and 12 grades saw increased enrollment. 

The drop in overall students has been attributed to declining birth rates and migration, alongside increases in home-schooling or online education. 

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