Shrinking Student Populations Cause Spike in Public School Closures across U.S.

School closures have spiked 35 percent across the country over the past four years, propelled by a shrinking youth population and the end of COVID-19 relief funds that had propped up education funding in some places.

For the fourth year in a row, the number of school closures rose nationally last year, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released last week. Districts closed more than 1,000 schools in 2025-26, compared with 755 in 2021-22. And more closures are planned, including districts in Houston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Broward County in Florida.

"We call it the big shrink," said Marguerite Roza, who tracks school funding as director of Georgetown University's Edunomics Lab. "Enrollment at public schools is declining, partly because there are fewer kids in the U.S."

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