Enrollment
27 South Dakota Districts Hit Record Lows
Nearly one in six South Dakota school districts is at its lowest enrollment ever recorded, including the state's second-largest district, Rapid City.
South Dakota Education News & Data
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Covid Impact
South Dakota Gained Students During COVID. Now the Bill Is Coming Due.
Most states lost students during COVID. South Dakota added 2,275. Three years later, the growth era is over and decline is accelerating.
Grade Shift
Kindergarten Down 9% in Three Years
South Dakota's kindergarten enrollment has fallen from 12,082 to 10,954 since 2022, the sharpest sustained decline on record. The shrinking pipeline foreshadows years of total enrollment loss.
District Spotlight
Rapid City Hits Its Lowest Enrollment on Record
South Dakota's second-largest district has lost nearly 2,000 students since 2012 while the state grew. The kindergarten pipeline is collapsing.
Demographics
One in 11 South Dakota Students Is Now Hispanic
Hispanic enrollment nearly quadrupled in 17 years, reshaping schools from Huron to Sioux Falls and closing in on Native American enrollment statewide.
Enrollment
South Dakota's 13-Year Growth Streak Is Over
After adding 18,000 students from 2007 to 2019, South Dakota public schools have lost 2,568 from their 2022 peak. The decline quadrupled in 2025.
Enrollment
South Dakota Publishes 2024-25 Enrollment Data
SD DOE releases 2024-25 enrollment data showing 138,861 students statewide — down 1,726, the largest single-year loss since the state started growing in 2007.