Students leave LISD as charter school options grow From the cover
By the numbers
The overview
District transfers Students transferring out of LISD to attend charter schools or other public school districts increased by 171%.
LISD’s enrollment growth is starting to slow due in part to the opening of more charter schools in the district’s boundaries, PASA President Stacey Tepera said in an October demographic update. In the 2013-14 school year, 1,187 students trans- ferred out of LISD to charter schools and other districts. By the 2023-24 school year, that number grew to 3,216—a 171% increase. During that time, LISD enrollment increased by 20%. Other nearby districts are also seeing students leaving at a faster rate than their enrollment growth. In Round Rock ISD, 3,053 students left in the 2013-14 school year compared to 5,634 in the 2023-24 school year while enrollment has declined in recent years. In 2019, Liberty Hill ISD began seeing more students transferring out of the district than trans- ferring in due to a change in policy, Superintendent Steven Snell said. However, LHISD has been largely unaffected by the increase in transfers out as its enrollment is growing rapidly, he said.
Community Impact analyzed data from the Texas Education Agency and LISD, which showed families are increasingly choosing to enroll their students in charter schools as options expand. Since 2019, six charter schools opened in the area—including Valor Leander, Basis Cedar Park and new Harmony Public Schools campuses— pulling thousands of students out of the district, according to data from LISD demographer Population and Survey Analysts. Over the next five years, four new charter schools and one charter school expansion planned within the district’s boundaries are expected to pull additional students, PASA data shows. About 7.5% of students in the district transferred to charter schools or other public school districts in the 2023-24 school year compared to 3.4% in the 2013-14 school year. While the district’s enrollment continues to grow, students are transferring out of the district at a faster rate. Many private school and homeschooling options also exist. According to 2022 census data, about 55,000 school-age children lived within LISD’s boundaries with 42,415 children enrolled in the district in 2022-23. Although no state agency tracks enrollment for private schools and homeschooling, data analyzed by Community Impact shows almost 10,000 students residing in LISD were choosing these options. Parent Amanda Alvizo said she pulled her son who has cystic fibrosis out of LISD to homeschool during the pandemic. Her son now attends Great Hearts Online, a charter school where he can take advanced courses virtually and complete self-led work. “[Great Hearts] has been able to accommodate his theory and grade-level abilities,” Alvizo said.
Transfers in
Transfers out
3,216
2K 3K 4K
304
0 1K
Students transferring from LISD into charter schools and other school districts
Charter schools
School districts
2,692
459
2023-24
Top schools LISD students left for in 2023-24
611 681
Harmony Public Schools
Basis Texas
Texas College Prep Academy 511
Enrollment over time Despite steady increases over time, enrollment growth in Leander ISD is beginning to slow.
152 265 339
Meridian World School Valor Public Schools
Round Rock ISD
Enrollment Census total school-age population (5-19)
Number of students
54,971
60K
Student withdrawals to private and homeschools
50K
Withdrawals are self-reported and may not represent the total number of students leaving for home or private school.
40K
42,415
30K
Homeschools
Private schools
2023-24
328
87
0
SOURCES: LEANDER ISD, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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