PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The School District of Philadelphia is getting a little extra time to report its fall enrollment to the state, because of transportation problems at the start of the school year.
The district normally reports a snapshot of its enrollment to the Pennsylvania Department of Education on Oct. 1. This year, however, Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington said he asked Education Secretary Carrie Rowe for a 10-day extension, because SEPTA service cuts kept many students from getting to school.
“I explained to her that in Philadelphia we had a two-week interruption of the SEPTA services and we wanted more time to verify where all of our students are,” Watlington told KYW Newsradio.
District enrollment was 118,000 in the 2024-25 school year. Watlington said the early figures show enrollment this fall is down a few hundred, “compared to last year when we saw an increase of 1,841 students. We absolutely believe that the SEPTA changes — interruptions — had an impact.”
Watlington was also asked whether immigrant parents may have been hesitant to enroll their children over ICE concerns. “We're taking the time to study enrollment in every single school to try to get our arms around that as well,” he said. “It's too soon to tell just yet.”