A new report says increased enrollment in Kansas schools is being driven by births in the Hispanic population.
The report by the Kansas Association of School Boards predicts that within five years, Kansas public school enrollment will reach 500,000 for the first time since 1970.
The report’s author, Ted Carter, says most of the increase is because of births among Hispanics, not migration into the state.
Total student enrollment has been growing steadily since the 2006-2007 school year. But without the growth among Hispanics, total enrollment would have been declining since the late 1990s.
Carter estimates that in five years, Hispanics will make up 22 percent of the total student body in Kansas, that's compared to less than 5 percent in the early 1990s.