demographics
Every Other Group Is Growing. White Enrollment Is Not.
Minnesota lost 130,507 white students since 2007 while every other racial group grew. White decline exceeds the state's entire net enrollment change.
Minnesota
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Minnesota, grounded in Minnesota Department of Education data.
Red Lake: Where Two-Thirds of Students Are Chronically Absent
Red Lake Public School District has the highest chronic absence rate in Minnesota at 68%, a crisis rooted in intergenerational trauma, poverty, and remoteness.
The 25-Point Gap: Minnesota's Black-White Chronic Absence Divide
In Minnesota, 40% of Black students were chronically absent compared to 14.5% of white students -- a 25-point gap the state can no longer track because it stopped publishing subgroup data.
74 Kindergartners for Every 100 Seniors
Minnesota hits four simultaneous grade-level records in 2026: all-time high pre-K and 12th grade, all-time low kindergarten and first grade.
Hastings Has Not Grown in 19 Years
Hastings is the only Minnesota district to decline every single year in the state's dataset. The 19-year streak has erased 1,118 students, 22% of enrollment.
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school-choice
Minnesota's Largest School Has No Building
A virtual campus run by Pearson now enrolls more students than any brick-and-mortar school in Minnesota. Online enrollment has tripled since COVID.
demographics
Minneapolis Is Becoming Whiter as Black Families Leave
Black enrollment in Minneapolis Public Schools has fallen 47% since 2007, while white share rose from 28.5% to 36.4%. The shift is not gentrification adding students. It is Black and Asian families leaving faster.
enrollment
The Suburban Donut: Minnetonka Surpasses Robbinsdale
Outer-ring Twin Cities suburbs gained 12,559 students since 2007 while inner-ring districts lost 7,248, reshaping the metro's enrollment geography.
special-populations
One in Five: Minnesota Nears a Special Education Threshold
Nearly one in five Minnesota students now receives special education services, up from one in seven in 2014, straining budgets despite a historic state funding increase.
school-choice
Minnesota's Charter Movement Hits a Ceiling
The state that invented charter schools 35 years ago saw its charter share stall at 8.3% in 2025-26, even as 76 of the 245 charters ever opened have closed.
demographics
43% Black: How St. Cloud Became Minnesota's Most Transformed District
St. Cloud's Black enrollment surged from 12% to 43% in 20 years, driven by Somali resettlement. The district now has more Black students than white.
enrollment
Five Years Later, Minnesota Is Still at the COVID Floor
Minnesota lost 23,236 students between 2020 and 2024. Five years later, only 3,208 have returned, a 13.8% recovery rate that masks a deeper structural shift.
demographics
Minnesota's Hispanic Enrollment Drops for the First Time in 18 Years
After 18 straight years of growth that doubled their numbers, Hispanic students in Minnesota declined by 137 in 2025-26.
enrollment
Minnesota Publishes 2025-26 Enrollment Data
MDE releases 2025-26 enrollment data showing 873,175 students statewide, 3,208 above the post-COVID trough, with a 13.8% recovery rate.