Texas
Declining birth rates are testing North Texas school districts
As public schools in North Texas begin a new school year, they are also adjusting to a new reality.
While the region boasts greater economic strength and is planning infrastructure for a growing population in the next decade, educators are seeing a different story — persistently lower student enrollment with all signs pointing to this as our future.
Richardson ISD has a student population of about 37,000 and is among the most diverse in North Texas. But it is already closing some elementary schools this year and is projecting a decrease of roughly 3,600 students over the next five years. Irving ISD lost about 4,000 students in the last decade. Dallas ISD, the largest school district in the region, lost about 18,000 students from 2012 to 2023.
Well, of course, you might think: Families are moving to Collin County for the schools. That’s true to a degree, but dig into the enrollment numbers and you find that Collin County suburbs are facing similar issues. There are just fewer children, and especially young children in these central parts of our region.
Plano is already facing enrollment decline. Frisco, the city where people move for the schools, is seeing a flattening of the curve in student population growth.
Over the past 12 years, Plano ISD has seen enrollment decrease by 7,750 students, a district spokesperson said. District trustees voted earlier this year to close four schools. And although Frisco ISD isn’t facing declining enrollment or school closures, the pearl of North Texas districts hasn’t been experiencing the explosive growth it saw over the last decade or so. Between 2024 and 2030, the district is projecting slower growth.
We can expect the trend to be steeper in Dallas. Between 2012 and 2022, the population of children under 5 years old in Dallas County decreased by 9.5%, and the number of children under 9 years old went down by 3%, census data shows.
North Texas public schools are adjusting to this new reality at a moment when traditional public schools are facing more competition and political pressure. Independent school districts are dealing with budget constraints. Meanwhile, a push for private school vouchers in Austin is gathering strength.
Many complex factors are involved in the enrollment numbers schools are seeing. But the major underlying cause is this — birth rates are declining.
But what about immigration, you might ask. A key demographic driving lower birth rates is Hispanics. In Texas, this trend began during the 2008 recession, Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter told us.
“Hispanics, not only in Texas, but nationwide, are now a multigenerational population,” Potter said. “The Latino population is more likely to gain educational attainment, and more likely to enter the labor force later compared to their parents and grandparents. This results in delayed childbirth.”
In other words, don’t count on immigration to resolve the demographic decline that is affecting schools. North Texas is growing, but even with huge numbers of immigrant families living within the district boundaries of Dallas, Richardson and Plano ISDs, we are losing kids.
It’s important to stress that changing demographics are not the whole story. The pandemic, for example, had a profound effect on public school enrollment. Housing prices and school quality are also important factors.
Since 2019, the year before the pandemic, Dallas County school districts have lost 4% of their students, according to an analysis by the Commit Partnership, an education nonprofit.
In the same period, charter school enrollment grew by 10%, and the private school share of students in the county continues to grow. Nationwide, there is also a turn to homeschooling. Texas accounted for 6% of the total homeschool enrollment in 2024, up from 3% in 2023, according to a census analysis.
It’s unlikely, though, that even with children pulling off to charter, private and home schools, that this can account for the much lower traditional public school enrollment we are seeing. And that’s the demographic problem.
That means more school closures and consolidations are coming, even as public schools are having to compete harder for the kids they get. Superintendents and school boards are aware of this, and many are adjusting well, our view.
We stand by this statement: Dallas ISD is one of, if not the most, innovative urban school districts in the country. For years, the district has been taking important steps to continue to attract new students despite facing ongoing enrollment declines.
DISD, as well as other Dallas County districts, are now focused on implementing high-quality instructional materials — better standard curricula and actual books and workbooks — that we think are going to show better outcomes for all students. We already know there is far more school choice within DISD and inner-ring suburban districts so that parents don’t have to rely on a single neighborhood school that might not serve their child.
There are also a lot of bright spots outside of DISD, like Garland and Cedar Hill ISDs. Garland made consistent progress in algebra in the last few years, and Cedar Hill showed an above-average performance in reading and math in the latest STAAR scores.
All of this is good news for our local schools. But the administrators of these schools know that change is coming, and in many cases has already arrived.
The children just aren’t here the way they were. And there may be no changing that.
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A North Texas woman is apologizing to her neighborhood after being held hostage for more than 24 hours during a standoff that shut down a Providence Village subdivision and disrupted school bus service.
CBS News Texas obtained a post from the woman, who wrote, “I am so sorry, everyone, all of you have such wonderful families, and I’m sorry to bring this monster to us.”
Neighbors responded with support, telling her, “We are here for you,” and “Don’t be sorry, we were just so worried for you.”
Suspect faces multiple felony charges
Authorities said the woman was rescued by the FBI and SWAT after allegedly being held by 57‑year‑old Michael Miller. He faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful restraint, aggravated kidnapping, burglary of a habitation, and violation of bond/protective order.
Miller received bonds on all charges except aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His total bond on the remaining charges is $4.5 million.
Neighbors sheltered in place for more than a day
Residents of the Foree Ranch subdivision are now trying to return to normal, but many say the experience is still lingering.
Preston Turner said he walked into the situation unexpectedly.
“I went to leave my house roughly on Monday morning, around 1 a.m., to go help a friend out that was in need,” Turner said. “I opened my garage, and I was approached by two SWAT members, and they were telling me to hurry up and close my garage and that we could not leave the house.”
Turner, his wife and children spent the next 24-plus hours hosting neighbors who lived across the street from the victim’s home. He streamed the standoff live on TikTok until authorities asked him to stop for safety reasons.
“And once I got the stream going, her family was on the stream, and they were asking me to continue because they wanted to know what was going on. So, very concerned about her,” he said.
Turner said he could see when Miller was arrested and placed into an SUV before being taken to jail.
Families describe fear and uncertainty
Up the block, Ruby Condensa and her family sheltered in place as the hours dragged on.
“It went on for so long. Um, at one point, I honestly did not know what was going to happen after we hit the 20-hour mark and I woke up, and I heard them,” Condensa said.
Her nearly two‑year‑old son Kai is used to playing outside, and she believes the uncertainty added to his anxiety.
“Kai, he’s a baby. He doesn’t know, but I think that obviously it was a lot just being inside. And I know my anxious energy might’ve been a little on him because it was a scary situation. Um, if it was that scary for me, I can’t even imagine what her and her family went through.”
Community gives victim space, offers support
Neighbors chose not to visit the victim’s home on Wednesday, saying they wanted to give her space after the traumatic event. But they made clear they are ready to help.
“It’s really sad, and I feel for her, and I hope that she can heal from that,” Condensa said. “And I know that, um, our neighborhood has really rallied around her, and if she needs anything. I know a lot of us would be there to help her in whatever way she needs.”
ABILENE, Texas — A Florida truck driver has been charged with intoxication manslaughter after a crash at a rural intersection left a South Texas man dead, authorities said.
Miguel Angel Casanova, 68, of Saint Cloud, Florida, suffered minor injuries in the crash and was wearing a seatbelt, according to investigators. After receiving treatment at Hendrick North Emergency Care, he was arrested on the charge.
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Authorities identified the victim as Adam Lee Reyna, 26, of Mission, Texas. Reyna, who was driving a 2019 Dodge Ram pickup, died at the scene and was pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace Mike McAuliffe. His seatbelt use was not immediately known.
According to a preliminary investigation, Casanova was traveling westbound on County Road 54 and approached a stop sign at the intersection with State Highway 351. Reyna was traveling northbound on the highway toward the same intersection.
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Investigators said Casanova failed to yield at the stop sign, and the vehicles collided.
The impact caused Reyna’s pickup to catch fire, and it was destroyed, authorities said.
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Further investigation determined Casanova was intoxicated due to an overdose of medication at the time of the crash.
The investigation remains ongoing.
DALLAS — Texas can require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday in a victory for conservatives who have long sought to incorporate more religion into classrooms.
The 9-8 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a boost to backers of similar laws in Arkansas and Louisiana. Opponents have argued that hanging the Ten Commandments in classrooms proselytizes to students and amounts to religious indoctrination by the government.
In a lengthy majority opinion, the conservative-leaning appeals court in New Orleans rejected those arguments in Texas, saying the requirement does not step on the rights of parents or students.
“No child is made to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin,” the ruling says.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups that challenged the Texas law on behalf of parents said in a statement that they anticipate appealing the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when and if to provide their children with religious instruction. This decision tramples those rights,” they said in the statement.
The mandate is one of several fronts in Texas that opponents have fought over religion in classrooms. In 2024, the state approved optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools, and a proposal set for a vote in June would add Bible stories to required reading lists in Texas classrooms.
The decision over the Ten Commandments law reverses a lower federal court ruling that had blocked about a dozen Texas school districts — including some of the state’s largest — from putting up the posters. The Texas law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott took effect in September, marking the largest attempt in the nation to hang the Ten Commandments in public schools.
From the start, the law was met almost immediately by a mix of embrace and hesitation in Texas classrooms that educate the state’s 5.5 million public school students.
The mandate animated school board meetings, spun up guidance about what to say when students ask questions, and led to boxes of donated posters being dropped on the doorsteps of campuses statewide. Although the law only requires schools to hang the posters if donated, one suburban Dallas school district spent nearly $1,800 to print roughly 5,000 posters.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, called the ruling “a major victory for Texas and our moral values.”
“The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day,” he said.
Tuesday’s ruling comes after the appeals court heard arguments in January in the Texas case and a similar case in Louisiana. In February, the court cleared the way for Louisiana to enforce its law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Republican Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the Texas ruling “adopted our entire legal defense” of the law in her state. In Alabama, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey also signed a similar law earlier this month.
“Our law clearly was always constitutional, and I am grateful that the Fifth Circuit has now definitively agreed with us,” Murrill said in a statement posted to social media.
Judge Stephen A. Higginson, in a dissenting opinion joined by four others on the court, wrote that the framers of the Constitution “intended disestablishment of religion, above all to prevent large religious sects from using political power to impose their religion on others.”
“Yet Texas, like Louisiana, seeks to do just that, legislating that specific, politically chosen scripture be installed in every public-school classroom,” Higginson wrote.
The law says schools must put donated posters “in a conspicuous place” and requires the writing to be a size and typeface that is visible from anywhere in a classroom to a person with “average vision.” The displays must also be 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall.
Texas’ law easily passed the GOP-controlled Legislature and Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have backed posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
___
Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report from Honolulu, Hawaii.
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