Student Enrollment Counts

Each year the Demographics & Enrollment Planning Department gathers demographic data on all students in BCPS schools. Specifically, data is reported on the first day of school and the benchmark day of enrollment, which typically is the Monday following the Labor Day Holiday. Included in the benchmark report are enrollment counts by grade and by level, diversity characteristics, race, ethnicity, as well as five year historic enrollment counts.

Enrollment Reports 2025/26

Benchmark Day Enrollment Count Memo & Report: September 8, 2025

Tenth Day Enrollment Count Memo & Report: August 22, 2025

First Day Enrollment Count Memo & Report: August 11, 2025

Number of Schools 2025/26

School Type	Number
Elementary	132
Middle	35
High	32
Combination	13
Centers	16
ESE Contract Agency	7
Contract Credit Recovery High School	1
Charter Schools	86
Total	322

Enrollment 2025/26

School Type	Enrollment
PreK	5,244
Elementary (K-5)	75,437
Middle (6-8)	38,416
High (9-12)	65,269
Centers	3,481
Charter Schools	48,820
Total:	236,667

Diversity Breakdown 2025/26

Characteristic	Count	Percent
White	119,594	50.5%
Black	96,748	40.9%
Asian	9,265	3.9%
Native American/Native Alaskan	689	0.3%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	495	0.2%
Multi-racial	9,876	4.2%

Ethnically Hispanic	93,427	39.5%

ELL	34,001	14.4%
ESE	40,703	17.2%
FRL	165,475	69.9%

Male	121,950	51.5%
Female	114,717	48.5%

Student Enrollment Counts FAQ's

What is the significance of reporting enrollment on the benchmark day of school?

Beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, the District's benchmark enrollment reporting date was moved from the twentieth day of school to the Monday following the Labor Day holiday. This new benchmark day replaces the tenth and twentieth day enrollment counts reported in previous years. The enrollment reported on the Monday following Labor Day is statistically comparable to the annual enrollment reported on the twentieth day of school and allows for school planning processes to begin sooner than in previous years.

The Benchmark Day Enrollment Report is important to the District because it is utilized in Board Policies and it establishes a statistical benchmark on a year-to-year basis.

Who is counted?

I am a school principal and I think my projected enrollment listed in the benchmark day enrollment report is not correct.

The Demographics & Enrollment Planning Department enrollment projection should not be confused with the school budget forecast. The projected enrollment provided in the benchmark day enrollment report reflects the official Demographics & Enrollment Planning Department enrollment projection forecasted immediately following the previous year’s benchmark day of enrollment. This enrollment projection is provided in the benchmark day report to compare if enrollment came in higher or lower than anticipated.

Following the benchmark day of school, new five year enrollment projections are reported by the Demographics & Enrollment Planning Department to the Budget Department where Budget staff then applies a formula to the enrollment projection for each school to forecast the school’s annual budget based on student program participation at each school.

How does a charter school determine capacity? Does a charter school ever have to update their capacity?

A charter school's “capacity” is a student station number that is included in the School Board approved charter contract with each individual charter school. A charter contract with student stations included is required by state statute 1002.33. State statute also requires that this capacity number be transmitted to the state on an annual basis as the capacity of the charter school.

Charter schools are not currently required to update their capacity number unless their charter contract is up for renewal. Charter school contract renewals occur every five years unless a different contract is developed due to special circumstances as approved by the School Board.

Enrollment Counts Archive