Alabama public schools enrolled about 702,000 students for the 2025-26 school year, down roughly 12,000 from approximately 714,000 the year before — a drop more than double the prior year's loss of 5,800 students. State officials say the decline could put funding for 750 to 800 positions, including teachers and administrators or instructional support staff, at risk next year, though the preliminary numbers could still shift before they're finalized.
The figures, still preliminary, were detailed in reporting from Alabama Daily News, which noted the enrollment slide this fall will directly affect state funding for the 2027-28 school year. Reported errors in the data mean local districts can still correct their counts, and district- and school-level figures are expected by the end of October or, at the latest, November's state board meeting, according to the same outlet. AL.com also reported on the scope of the drop.
A Widespread Drop, Not a Local Blip
This isn't a problem confined to a handful of struggling systems. Per WSFA, officials describe losses occurring statewide, with the deepest cuts concentrated in rural areas and one or two major counties. Jefferson County and the surrounding area reported the single largest loss, according to 1819 News. Jefferson County Schools' average daily membership alone declined by about 1,670 students from the 2021-22 school year through 2025-26, Alabama Daily News reported.
Kindergarten took the hardest hit among elementary grades, though the exact scale of that drop depends on who's counting. The Alabama Reflector put the kindergarten decline at about 2,500 students, while Alabama Daily News cited a steeper estimate of roughly 2,700 to 2,800 fewer kindergartners this year. Fifth grade, meanwhile, was the lone elementary bright spot, gaining more than 1,000 students, the outlet's report noted.
What's Driving Families Away
Nobody has a single clean answer for where the students went. Possible explanations floated include fewer births, families moving out of state, and more students turning to private schools or homeschooling, per the same account. Alabama recorded 57,835 live births in 2023, down from 58,162 a decade earlier in 2013, a trend an Alabama Reflector report ties to the kindergarten slide, alongside a broader aging of the state's population.
The CHOOSE Act, Alabama's school-choice program, accounts for only part of the picture. Superintendent Eric Mackey said CHOOSE participation does not come close to explaining the overall enrollment decline, the Alabama Daily News report found. Of 8,963 students who attended public schools the prior year and applied for CHOOSE Act funding this year, 4,096 received awards and just 2,655 actually activated them, according to the outlet.
Homeschooling remains a particular black box in the data. State law limits the collection of information on non-public-school attendance, making statewide homeschooling totals difficult to track. Homeschooling is a possible destination for departing students, but the category is difficult to track.
Uneven Growth Across the State
Not every county is shrinking. Fast-growing areas including Madison, Shelby, Baldwin, Limestone and Lee counties saw growth in their school-age populations, while nearly every Black Belt county except Russell saw declines, according to the Alabama Reflector's earlier analysis. Montgomery County lost roughly 316 students during the 2025-26 school year, with about 100 of those headed to private schools and roughly 40 homeschooled, the outlet reported.
Longer-term data from Ed Tribune shows the shift has been building for years: from 2014-15 to 2025-26, Alabama's K-5 enrollment fell by 3,247 students and grades 6-8 dropped by 3,000, even as grades 9-12 grew by 1,098. Among 141 districts with published kindergarten and grade 12 counts for 2025-26, 47 had fewer kindergartners than grade 12 students, 92 had more, and two had equal counts, per the outlet's analysis. The comparison is a planning signal, not a forecast, and cannot predict total future enrollment on its own.
The Fallout for Classrooms
For smaller and rural districts already stretched thin, the practical effect could be painful. Selma City's teacher units fell 10%, from 143 to 128, during the 2025-26 school year, according to a separate Alabama Daily News report on Foundation Program cuts. With funding for roughly 750 to 800 positions potentially at risk statewide next year, including teachers and administrators or instructional support staff, local districts may be forced to cut staff even as enrollment figures remain subject to revision until districts finish reviewing and correcting their data in the coming weeks.
