BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The decline in Alabama’s public school enrollment is worse than originally thought.
Official numbers show 5,800 fewer students this year – a loss of less than 1% of last year’s total, but one of the state’s largest year-over-year losses in decades.
The final enrollment of 714, 400 students slightly exceeds earlier estimates. Superintendent Eric Mackey said Monday that while officials hoped the preliminary figure of about 5,700 fewer students would shrink as final verifications were completed, it instead grew.
As Alabama Daily News recently reported, about 3,000 of those students are using CHOOSE Act education savings accounts to attend private schools this year. But officials are still trying to determine where roughly 2,800 other students went.
“I do think that a number of those students may have gone to homeschool but did not report it that way to their school of enrollment,” Mackey said. “But I can’t say that for sure.”
Alabama’s homeschool law has few requirements beyond notifying local school officials. Unlike some states, Alabama no longer requires families to join a homeschool “cover school,” a rule repealed in 2015.
Initially, Mackey said he heard from superintendents that many of the missing students were Hispanic, but told ADN Monday that the state actually gained 300 Hispanic students from last year to this year.
While most public school districts lost students, two segments – charter and virtual schools – saw enrollment increases. “The three fastest-growing school systems by far were Limestone County, Eufaula City and Chickasaw City,” Mackey said. “And those were virtual school students.”
The lower enrollment will affect next year’s school funding, but Mackey said the projected number of teacher jobs at risk has dropped from 700 to about 500.
Because losses were spread statewide, he doesn’t expect layoffs.
“What that tells me is that while we have 45,000 to 50,000 teachers, if we lose 500 units, that will be easily absorbed through attrition,” he said.
In smaller districts, though, even a few fewer teaching units can make it hard to keep schools fully staffed.
“There will be impacts,” Mackey added. “We’ve got to figure out how to move people around and make changes, but we’re not talking about massive layoffs across the state.”
Districts with sustained declines may eventually face school consolidations.
“One of the reasons systems end up in trouble is because they’re operating too many sites,” Mackey said.
Three districts are currently under state intervention – Sumter County, Dallas County and Bessemer City – and the state has already closed schools in Sumter and Dallas counties because of declining enrollment.
The Alabama Department of Education on Monday released its annual per-district average daily membership data for the current school year, which measures the average number of students enrolled during the 20 school days following Labor Day.
An Alabama Daily News analysis found that overall trends mirror prior years: Black Belt districts again saw losses, though declines were widespread across most of the state.
The two largest districts – Mobile and Jefferson counties – saw the biggest losses in raw numbers. Mobile lost just under 1,000 students and Jefferson just over 1,000, about 2% and 3% of each district’s enrollment, respectively.
Mackey said both districts are actively searching for missing students. “They’re sending out counselors and social workers and registrars trying to identify students,” he said. “But in many cases, the students move, so the address we have on file is not correct anymore. It’s just hard to locate them.”
ADN was unable to reach Mobile or Jefferson County officials for comment.
Three small traditional school districts and three charter schools each lost more than 10% of its student population from last year to this year:
- Fairfield City down 200 students, leaving 1,180, a 15% decline,
- Floretta P. Carson charter school down 36, to 195 students, a 15% loss,
- Magic City Acceptance Academy down 52, to 290 students, a 15% loss,
- Tarrant City down 176, to 1,100 students, a 14% loss,
- LIFE Academy charter school down 78 students, a 13% loss,
- Barbour Country down 72 students, a 12% loss.
Meanwhile, public charter schools – including two new ones – saw enrollment climb from 6,600 to 7,400 students, a 12% increase. City school districts collectively lost about 1,700 students, from 277,400 to 275,700 – a 0.6% decline. County systems lost about 5,000 students, from 436,200 to 431,250 – a 1.1% decline.
The three districts with statewide virtual schools saw the largest increases:
- Chickasaw City: up 920 students to 3,400, a 37% increase
- Limestone County: up 900 to 16,600, a 6% increase
- Eufaula City: up 820 to 8,600, a 10% increase
Mackey said families choosing virtual options should ensure their students are doing well academically.
“Virtual school is a good fit for some young people – especially children who have anxiety about being around others or families that move frequently,” he said. “But it’s not for everybody. If parents try online school and their child isn’t thriving, they should consider returning to an in-person setting.”
The map below shows the percentage change in each traditional district’s ADM from the 2024–25 to 2025–26 school year. Click here if you’re unable to see the map.
The table below lists ADM changes for all traditional and charter districts statewide. Click here if you’re unable to see the table.
This year’s ADM also affects additional allocations for English learners, special education, gifted, poverty and charter students under the RAISE Act.
This year, districts will receive $166 million in targeted funding out of $6.2 billion in total K–12 spending to meet specific student needs.
Mackey said he still worries some students may not be enrolled anywhere.
“If we have students out there that are just not in school every day, they need to be in school,” he said. “Because not getting an education, not getting a high school diploma, in most cases doesn’t lead to good outcomes. Those folks need to be in school.”
Alabama Education Association Executive Director Amy Marlowe said she isn’t surprised that about 3,000 students used CHOOSE Act education savings accounts to move to private schools but is worried about those whose whereabouts are unknown.
“It seems like we’ve gone backwards because we used to have laws in Alabama where, as a last stop, the school system could find kids that went missing,” she said. “Maybe they moved or are homeschooling, but that was an extra safety net to make sure Alabama’s children were safe.”
Marlowe said that over time, such enrollment losses will likely mean fewer public school employees, even if initial reductions occur through attrition.