More than 300 Fayette students moved to surrounding Ky. districts under new law

About 309 students who live in Fayette County are attending surrounding Kentucky school districts under a new state law that allows out-of-district enrollment.

The enrollment trend was revealed at a Fayette County school budget workshop March 16 by Pupil Personnel Director Steve Hill.

HB 563 went into effect in July 2022 and requires school districts to develop a policy to allow out of district students to enroll.

“Of course I’m concerned,” Fayette School Board Member Tom Jones said about the departing students. “But it’s not entirely surprising since the legislature recently provided parents with the option to enroll their children in any public school without regard to long standing district boundaries.”

As for students from other districts coming to enroll in Fayette County, only the children of Fayette teachers who live in other districts have been allowed so far. They number about 130, said Hill.

Fayette’s policy will be based on capacity, Hill said. The district has space in some of its school buildings, but is “space-challenged” in others, he said.

Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said Fayette school officials want to see how the law - currently on the “back burner” in Fayette County - affects other districts. He said Fayette’s policy will allow a student from another district to come to a Fayette school where there are vacant seats.

Liggins said there was a lot to “iron out” with the new law.

Other district officials are not significantly concerned about the numbers of Fayette students going to other school districts.

“Fayette County Public Schools has had reciprocal enrollment agreements with other school districts for years, so HB 563 did not have much of an impact. In fact, this year’s number is even lower than the 2020-21 school year,” district spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said.

Eric Kennedy of the Kentucky School Boards Association said for some districts, growth in enrollment and attendance this year may be partially a result of increased non-resident enrollment that was a result of HB 563. “Not entirely but definitely a part of it,” said Kennedy.

Private schools see increase

Data also shows private school enrollment in Fayette County has increased post COVID, with an increase of 345 students since 2019-2020.

In private school enrollment in Fayette County, the increase was from 4,300 in 2019-2020 to 4,404 in 2020-2021 to 4,499 in 2021- 2022 to 4,645 in 2022-2023, Hill said.

At the same time public school attendance grew, said Deffendall, from 40,492 in 2020 to 40,724 in 2022.

5-year enrollment projections for resident students hover between 40,500 and 40,700, dipping in 2023 and 2026.

Kyle A. Lee, the Superintendent of Schools for the Catholic Diocese of Lexington, confirmed that Lexington Catholic Schools have seen a steady increase in enrollment since the start of the school year. 13 of 14 schools across the Diocese have higher enrollments than at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.

“The doors of our schools continue to remain open to any child or family seeking a high-quality Catholic Education. We will always welcome families looking for a strong faith-based education focused on creating saints and scholars,” said Lee.

Since 2020, Lexington Christian Academy has seen increased interest from public school families.

“When we ask public school families why they are seeking our school, they cite our Christian environment, loving and nurturing teachers, small class sizes, safety and security, as well as our programming which focuses on preparing our students for college and career,” said Lesley Sizemore-Hardin, Director of Admissions & Marketing for Lexington Christian Academy.

At Sayre, said spokesperson Barb Milosch, “we saw an increase in new students from public school during the pandemic, but that has returned to pre-COVID levels for 22-23 and looking ahead to 23-24.”

“Regardless of the pandemic, we always add new students from public school across multiple grade levels. The motivation for the change involves factors like smaller class size, more personal attention and hands-on learning, stronger academics, college prep/counseling, safety/security, opportunities in arts, athletics, and other extracurricular activities,” said Milosch.

Student enrollment is a complex and constantly moving figure impacted by many factors, including housing availability, neighborhood aging patterns, economic development, and community growth, as well as the individual decisions made by families about where to send their children to school, Deffendall said.

In other highlights from Fayette enrollment statistics:

▪ Fayette enrollment continues to increase but is projected to stabilize over the next 5 years.

▪ Enrollment growth is not as aggressive as it once was. Lower birth rates are being recorded in Fayette County compared to the data pulled in 2017. Birth rates have dropped 6 percent in the city and that’s a national trend.

▪ Deffendall said that the number of applications for special and innovative programs has risen from 3,952 last year to 5,477 this year - an increase of more than 1,500.

“We understand that everyone wants their children in an excellent school where they feel welcome, safe, and supported to achieve at high levels, and we work diligently to provide a world-class education in each of our 70 schools and special programs,” Deffendall said “We recognize the unlimited potential of each student and are committed to helping them discover their unique talents and gifts by offering challenging and innovative instructional programs that include experiences in science, music, technology, world language, and the arts.”

▪ Homeschool rates are about what they were before COVID, Hill said. During Covid, the numbers of homeschool students increased from 1,500 up to 1,900, but the most recent number is 1,453, said Hill.