2,576 students enrolled in Inyo County schools in 2023-24 school year

There were 2,576 students enrolled in Inyo County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.5% less than the previous year, according to the California Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed at the time, 51% identified as male, and 49% as female.

Data also showed that Hispanic or Latino students made up 42.2% of the student body, the largest percentage in the county, followed by white students at 31.9% (823 students), American Indian or Alaska Native students at 14.5% (374 students) and multiracial students at 8.6% (222 students).

Bishop Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Inyo County’s 134 schools in the 2023-24 academic year, welcoming 866 students.

After peaking at 6.3 million in the early 2000s, public school enrollment in California has marked its seventh consecutive decline in the 2023-24 school year, with projections indicating it could fall to approximately 5.2 million by the 2033-34 school year. This trend is attributed to lower birth rates, slowed immigration, and families relocating out of state due to high housing costs. Rural and coastal districts have been particularly affected, facing tough decisions such as school closures and staffing reductions.

Although chronic absenteeism in California decreased in 2023, it remains double the pre-pandemic rate. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, chronic absenteeism in the state public schools reached 25% in 2023, up from 12% in 2019.