A new report finds that enrollment in Rhode Island schools has declined significantly since 2019. The study, conducted by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC), shows that public school enrollment has fallen by more than 7,000 students, and district school enrollment has fallen by more than 10,000 students.
The report’s authors say that various factors contribute to the enrollment decline, including demographic shifts, students choosing to enroll in private schools or be homeschooled, and a rise in the dropout rate. They note that the causes and magnitude of enrollment declines vary widely among districts, with some districts losing more than one in six students since 2019.
The study also finds that about one in five students statewide were chronically absent in Rhode Island in 2018-19, and that the chronic absenteeism rate for students from historically disadvantaged subgroups was much higher. The report’s authors say that the pandemic has exacerbated the issue of chronic absenteeism.
RIPEC has recommended that the state continue its efforts to raise public awareness about the importance of school attendance and invest in programs that reduce chronic absenteeism rates. They say it is also important to improve data collection and the accuracy of chronic absenteeism data.
The full report is available here and an executive summary is available here.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
