District Spotlight
Jefferson Parish Hits Its Lowest Enrollment Ever
Louisiana's largest traditional district lost 2,053 students in one year, its steepest drop, as immigration enforcement reshapes a diversifying parish.
Louisiana Education News & Data
Page 2 of 3
District Spotlight
Morehouse Parish: From 64% to 89%, Louisiana's Most Dramatic Graduation Turnaround
Morehouse Parish climbed from a 64.3% graduation rate to 88.5% in 2025, the largest turnaround of any Louisiana parish over the period.
Demographics
Two-Thirds of Louisiana Parishes Are Now Majority-Minority
Forty-eight of 75 Louisiana parishes are now majority-minority, up from 42 in 2019. Six suburban and rural parishes crossed the 50% threshold.
Special Populations
Louisiana's Special Education Graduation Gap Collapsed From 22 Points to 4, In Just Seven Years
Louisiana's special education graduation rate surged from 59% to 81% since 2018, nearly closing a gap that most states struggle to shrink below 30 points.
Equity
Seven in Ten Louisiana Students Are Economically Disadvantaged
Louisiana classifies 70.1% of its public school students as economically disadvantaged, but the number measures the state's meal program accounting as much as its poverty.
District Spotlight
Baton Rouge Loses 1,703 Students in One Year
East Baton Rouge Parish enrollment fell 4.3% in 2026, seven times the prior year's rate, as school closures, charter exits, and outmigration collide in Louisiana's capital.
Equity
The White-Black Graduation Gap Narrowed to Its Smallest Point, 6.7 Percentage Points
Louisiana's white-Black graduation gap fell to 6.7 points in 2025, its narrowest on record, as Black students gained 4.8 points and outpaced white improvement.
Graduation Rate
Louisiana Hit an All-Time High 85% Graduation Rate, Climbing Nearly 5 Points Since 2019
Louisiana's graduation rate reached 85% in 2025, its highest on record, with gains across every major racial subgroup and the largest single-year jump in the dataset.
Enrollment
Louisiana Lost 15,424 Students in One Year
The 2025-26 school year brought Louisiana's largest non-COVID enrollment loss, with 67 of 75 parishes declining and six losing more than 500 students each.
Demographics
Louisiana's White Student Share Falls to 40%
White enrollment fell to 40.2% in Louisiana public schools, down from 47.1% in seven years. Seventy of 74 parishes lost white students.
School Choice
One in Eight Louisiana Students Now Attends a Charter School
Charter enrollment reached 12.4% of Louisiana's public school total in 2025-26, gaining 6,914 students since 2022 while traditional parishes lost 32,171.
District Spotlight
Caddo Parish Has Lost Students Every Year for Seven Years
Caddo Parish lost 5,611 students since 2019, a 14.8% decline that leads Louisiana and has triggered school closures.
District Spotlight
St. John the Baptist Parish Drops 8.6 Points, Among Louisiana Parishes' Biggest 2025 Turnarounds
St. John the Baptist Parish cut chronic absenteeism from 28.0% to 19.4% in 2025, the third-largest improvement among Louisiana's traditional parishes.
District Spotlight
One in Three Baton Rouge Students Is Chronically Absent. But the Tide May Be Turning
East Baton Rouge Parish's chronic absenteeism peaked at 33.4% in 2024 before dropping to 30.5% in 2025, but 14 schools still have rates above 50%.
District Spotlight
Caddo Parish's Three-Year March to an All-Time High: How Shreveport Lost Its Post-COVID Recovery
Caddo Parish recovered to near pre-COVID absenteeism by 2022, then worsened every year since, hitting an all-time high of 31.0% in 2025.
