After decades of decline, public school enrollment (DCPS and public charter schools) began to rise in SY2009-10. Between SY2008-09 and SY2019-20, enrollment grew by 33%, adding 23,242 students. In SY2020-21, the first school year affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic, enrollment decreased by 775 students, less than 1%. Total enrollment remained flat in SY2021-22, the second year of the pandemic. Enrollment then grew for the following two years. However, in SY2025-26, total public school enrollment again leveled off, declining by approximately 200 students, or -0.2%.
Total Public School Audited Enrollment, SY1990-91 through SY2025-26
Source: OSSE Audited Enrollment
Public charter school enrollment has increased steadily in most years, including during the COVID‑19 pandemic. In SY2025‑26, public charter enrollment grew by 276 students, a 0.6% increase from the prior year. Since SY2022‑23, DCPS had also been growing steadily post‑pandemic. This school year, however, DCPS enrollment declined by approximately 500 students, or -1.0%, from the prior year.
Total Public School Audited Enrollment by Sector, SY2010-11 through SY2025-26
Source: OSSE Audited Enrollment
