• Original Reporting
  • References

The Trust Project

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(Provided by Gigafact.)

Yes.

Colorado public school enrollment has declined 3.5% over the past five years, dropping the number of students in classrooms statewide to the lowest point in more than a decade. 

Enrollment trended upward until the 2019-2020 school year, reaching a peak of 913,000 students, Colorado Department of Education data shows. Enrollment during the 2024-2025 academic year was 881,065, declining by 400 students from a year earlier, for a 0.1% decrease. 

School districts across the Denver metro have seen almost 27,000 fewer students, or a 5.35% decrease, in the past decade. Jefferson County saw the sharpest decline during that period, losing over 11,000 students, or roughly 13% of its student body. 

Most of the declines are seen in early elementary grades while fifth, sixth, 11th and 12 grades saw increased enrollment. 

The drop in overall students has been attributed to declining birth rates and migration, alongside increases in home-schooling or online education. 

See full source list below.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

The Colorado Sun partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

References:

Data compiled by The Colorado Sun from the Colorado Department of Education, sourced June 2025. Source link (download)

2024-2025 Pupil Membership, Colorado Department of Education, accessed in June 2025. Source link.

Colorado school enrollment this year is at its lowest level in a decade. What does that mean for K-12 education?, The Colorado Sun, Jan. 18, 2024. Source link.

Fewer students are enrolled in Colorado’s schools this year as diversity increases, Colorado Public Radio, Jan. 15, 2025. Source link.

More than 100 Colorado school districts have declining enrollment. State funding cuts could come next, The Colorado Sun, Jan. 15, 2025. Source link.

Type of Story: Fact-Check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.

Por recently graduated from CU Boulder with a master’s degree in journalism and is interested in writing about the environment and exploring local stories. When not working on some form of writing, Por is either looking for Thai food or petting...