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Indianapolis Public Schools experienced its greatest annual enrollment decline since the pandemic while charter school enrollment also dropped — trends that could signal fundamental challenges for both school types.
IPS enrollment dropped by 6% since last school year to 19,774 in 2025-26, while enrollment across both independent charters and charters in the district’s Innovation Network dropped nearly 3% from last year to just under 22,000 students, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of state enrollment data.
Overall, 41,663 students attend IPS or charter schools, with roughly 47% at IPS and about 53% at charters. (The analysis also includes charter schools just outside of IPS where a majority of students live in district borders.)
Across most Marion County school districts, there were also slight enrollment declines.
The enrollment dips come as schools across the country experience a continual post-COVID population drop that could stem from a number of factors, including declining birth rates, stricter immigration policy, and other school options. In Indianapolis, the declines could exacerbate a financial crunch schools are expecting through incoming property tax reforms estimated to cost school districts millions. In addition to property tax revenue, schools receive state funding that’s based on enrollment.
The declines also come with major changes on the horizon for Indianapolis public schools. Lawmakers are considering creating a new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation that would eventually own all school buildings and run transportation services, as well as levy and collect property taxes for schools and create an accountability system that includes closing low-performing schools.
“The reality facing public schools across the U.S. is that enrollment has been decreasing,” IPS said in a statement. “We will continue to thoughtfully navigate these shifts while also working hard to be the preferred choice for more families.”
In the charter sector, school mergers — which have occurred in recent years as schools have struggled with finances or enrollment — could be a solution if enrollment continues to decline.
“We do think that’s a really thoughtful strategy to both work to increase the number of kids that are attending higher quality operators, and to make sure that schools are operating as near to their capacity as possible,” said Brandon Brown, head of the Mind Trust nonprofit that has launched many of the city’s charter schools.
IPS enrollment drops by over 1,000 students
Enrollment at IPS schools declined by 1,281 students from last year to this year, the greatest drop since losing 2,681 students after the 2019-20 school year. These schools include traditional IPS schools and those in the Innovation Network that are not charter schools.
The decline mirrors broader demographic trends. State records show the number of students living in IPS attendance boundaries fell from 49,721 in October 2024 to 48,869 October 2025, a 1.7% drop. These figures exclude students attending private school without a state-funded voucher or those who are home-schooled.
A demographic report commissioned by the district and released in 2021 projected that enrollment in seventh and eighth grades, as well as the elementary school population, would decline.
But the district’s greatest declines occurred at the high school level, with high school enrollment dropping 9% to 5,115 across its four high schools and smaller high school programs. Ninth grade saw the highest percentage decrease at roughly 20%, or a loss of 281 students over last year.
Middle school enrollment dropped nearly 6% to 3,626.
Meanwhile, enrollment at independent charters dropped by 740 students — the largest year-over-year drop in at least seven years — while Innovation Network charters grew by 113 students.
(The analysis includes prekindergarten students in total counts, and excludes adult charter high schools and virtual or blended charter schools not affiliated with the Innovation Network.)
Across the nearly 60 charter schools, overall enrollment dropped from 22,516 to 21,889 — a loss of 627 students, or nearly 3%. These schools primarily lost students in the lower elementary grades.
But IPS noted that enrollment in its portfolio of schools — which include both traditional schools and those in the Innovation Network — has remained “remarkably stable.” That total figure dropped by roughly 4%, from over 32,000 students last year to under 31,000 this year.
The Mind Trust, meanwhile, noted that more students are attending autonomous schools — charters and Innovation Network schools, both charter and non-charter — than traditional district schools.
IPS, charter demographics remain largely unchanged
Racial and ethnic demographics have largely remained the same across district and charter schools.
Independent charters continue to have a higher proportion of Black students but a lower proportion of English language learners than IPS schools and charters in the Innovation Network.
Although immigration enforcement efforts have raised concerns about enrollment declines nationwide, the proportion of English language learners as a percentage of total enrollment has remained relatively stable.
The percentage of IPS students receiving free or reduced-price meals jumped from roughly 59% to nearly 68%, although both Innovation and independent charters continue to enroll a higher share of such students.
State data on enrollment levels of students with disabilities across the different school types is not yet available.
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
