LA Unified loses students across the district as immigration sweeps intensify

The Los Angeles Unified School District is reporting a 4% drop in student enrollment compared with last year, a trend the district says is in part due to immigration raids that have terrorized LA communities.

For the 2025–26 school year, LAUSD enrolled 392,654 students, down from 409,108 the previous year, the district said. The numbers are nearly 2% below projections.

On top of the overall decrease, the district saw a “significant” decline in newcomer students who were born outside the United States.

“These declines reflect a climate of fear and instability created by ongoing immigration crackdowns, which disrupt family stability, housing, and mobility,” said LA schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho in a statement.

“When families are afraid to be seen, or when they cannot afford to remain in their communities, they are less likely to enroll, reenroll, or stay in public schools,” he added.

Carvalho said immigration fears are “exacerbating” other factors that were already contributing to statewide enrollment declines, including falling birth rates and rising housing costs.

LAUSD released numbers this week reflecting its annual count of actively enrolled students. The practice, known as “Norm Day,” takes place on the fifth or sixth Friday of the school year. This year, Norm Day fell on Friday, Sept. 19. The district then realigns its teacher workforce based on current student enrollment.

As far as newcomer students — those enrolled for three years or fewer in any U.S. school — the district’s 2023-24 end-of-year data show that 21,997 were enrolled in LAUSD. That number made up 5.2% of the student population.

In 2024-25, newcomer enrollment declined to 19,110 students, the district said. The downward trend continued in 2025–26, with recent data showing an additional decline of 1,768 students, bringing enrollment to 17,342 and reducing newcomers to 4.4% of the student population, according to LAUSD.

“While Newcomers have historically been a vibrant and growing part of our school communities, their enrollment has declined significantly over the past three years, with year-over-year decreases that mirror the uncertainty many families are living through,” Carvalho said.

In September, activists with the social justice group Centro CSO urged LAUSD to place a moratorium on potential staff displacements tied to declining student enrollment.

The Boyle Heights-based group said it was unfair for schools to make staffing decisions at a time when immigration raids have stoked fears across LA neighborhoods.

“ICE has had a chilling effect on our school communities and families, especially those with undocumented members [who] are understandably afraid to send their children to school, fearing detention, separation, or deportation,” the organization wrote in a letter addressed to LAUSD board members.

The district has not yet made it clear whether there will be any staffing changes in Eastside schools resulting from Norm Day.