Demographics aren’t the only reason enrollment at Chicago Public Schools is dropping. A larger percentage of Chicago families are sending their kids to private schools.
A new report from the trusted Kids First Chicago shows that CPS is serving a smaller share of the city’s school-age population, evidence that parental choice is in no small part behind CPS’ enrollment woes. In 2018, CPS enrolled about 75% of Chicago’s school-age children. By 2023, that share had fallen to roughly 71%.
Had CPS maintained its earlier share, the district would be serving approximately 18,000 more students today, according to the report.
Yes, demographics are behind much of the enrollment decline. Chicago, like much of the country, is experiencing a sharp decline in births, and some families are leaving the city altogether. But the loss of market share points to something more consequential: a growing share of families who remain in Chicago are choosing not to enroll their children in CPS.
While Chicago is the canary in the coal mine, the legislative resistance to choice affects the entire state. Illinois public school enrollment has fallen by about 136,000 kids since before the pandemic, according to state data.
Public school enrollment decline is a problem nationwide, but that alone doesn’t tell the whole story here at home. Where are Illinois’ public school students going? Are families moving out of state, contributing to overall population loss? Or are students leaving public schools for private alternatives?
State data makes it difficult to precisely track where every departing student goes, but the trend is clear: There are fewer kids in our public schools. By contrast, private school enrollment has remained relatively stable over this period.
Yet Illinois lawmakers behave as if this shift isn’t happening, or worse, as if it shouldn’t be allowed to happen at all. The data suggest strongly that parents want more options outside the public schools in their areas. Instead of responding to their constituents, lawmakers in Springfield have worked to limit them.
It wasn’t long ago that Illinois had a program called Invest in Kids, which provided private-school scholarships to low-income students, funded by individuals who received tax write-offs in return. According to Illinois Department of Revenue data obtained by the Tribune, the program helped fund private school educations for more than 15,000 students in the 2023–24 school year, a 56% increase from the year before. Thousands were on the waitlist.
Then, state lawmakers, at the urging of teachers unions, allowed the program expire at the end of 2023.
The end of Invest in Kids didn’t mean that demand for alternatives lessened. It simply removed one of the few mechanisms providing access for families without means. The program’s demise already has created tangible fallout. A handful of private schools announced closures in its wake, including Chicago’s St. Stanislaus Kostka Academy, which will shut its doors at the end of this school year after more than 150 years of educating children. The pastor of the parish cited the program’s loss as a factor in the closure decision.
A federal scholarship tax-credit program enacted through budget reconciliation in 2025 gives Illinois another opportunity to expand access to private-school scholarships for families. The program, modeled in part on Illinois’ former Invest in Kids initiative, relies on private donations incentivized through federal tax credits. States must still take steps to allow families to participate.
The state’s unwillingness to do so — Gov. JB Pritzker criticized the measure shortly after its passage — sends a clear, unwelcome message to parents. You may want options, but the state does not want to give them to you. Even when it doesn’t have to finance those scholarships with its own tax dollars!
Faced with legislative inaction, local governments are stepping into the vacuum. Across Illinois, dozens of local governments such as McHenry County have placed advisory questions on the primary ballot asking voters where they stand on the federal school choice program, according to analysis from the Illinois Policy Institute.
These referendums may be nonbinding, but they are powerful as messages. They make explicit what enrollment data show: Many families want alternatives to the public schools in their areas. Lawmakers can — and often do — dismiss advisory votes. But it’s harder to ignore the choices parents already are making. With their feet.
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Correction: An earlier version of this editorial contained some outdated information about a federal tax-credit scholarship provision enacted through budget reconciliation in 2025. The Tribune regrets the error.
