school-choice
Traditional Schools Lost 33,300 Students. The State Totals Hid It.
Oklahoma's headline enrollment dipped just 0.9% since 2016. Strip out virtual charters and the picture is five times worse.
Oklahoma Education News & Data
Page 2 of 2
covid-impact
Three in Four Oklahoma Districts Still Below Pre-COVID Enrollment
Five years after the pandemic, only 136 of 515 Oklahoma districts have recovered to 2019 levels. The state's brief rebound masked a deeper structural decline.
district-spotlight
Bixby Grew 41% While Tulsa Lost a Fifth of Its Students
Tulsa Public Schools has shed 8,417 students since 2016. The suburbs ringing it have absorbed thousands, creating a metropolitan donut pattern that is reshaping school funding across the region.
enrollment
Two of Three Oklahoma Districts Lost Students This Year
350 of 539 Oklahoma districts shrank in 2025-26, the broadest non-COVID decline on record, with losses distributed far beyond the largest urban systems.
district-spotlight
Tulsa Is Now Oklahoma's Largest District. Both It and OKC Are at All-Time Lows.
Tulsa quietly overtook Oklahoma City in 2022 as the state's largest school district. The lead has widened to 1,346 students, but both are shrinking.
school-choice
Oklahoma's Virtual Schools Now Enroll More Students Than Any District Except Two
Seven virtual charter schools serve 37,249 students, 5.4% of statewide enrollment. The sector nearly quadrupled in a decade and claims 1 in 10 high schoolers.
grade-shift
Fewer Kindergartners Than Seniors for the First Time
Oklahoma enrolled 3,533 fewer kindergartners than 12th graders in 2025-26, a first in at least a decade. The inversion locks in years of continued decline.
district-spotlight
Oklahoma City Lost Nearly a Third of Its Students in a Decade
OKCPS dropped from 45,577 to 31,104 students since 2016, losing its No. 1 ranking to Tulsa and closing 32 campuses as virtual charters and suburbs absorbed families.
enrollment
Oklahoma Lost More Students This Year Than During COVID
Oklahoma's 10,640-student drop in 2025-26 is the largest single-year loss in the dataset, surpassing the pandemic. The state is now 7,395 students below its COVID floor.
school-choice
Epic Charter: The School That Swallowed Oklahoma
Epic Charter Schools grew from 6,037 students to 59,445 in five years, becoming Oklahoma's largest district. Then came the scandal, the collapse, and 500 layoffs.
enrollment
Oklahoma Publishes 2025-26 Enrollment Data
OSDE releases 2025-26 enrollment data showing 686,718 students statewide — down 10,640, the largest single-year loss on record.