Only 5-6% of k-12 idaho students are in private. Not a βhugeβ amount
Public Schools (including traditional districts and charters)
β’ Fall 2025 enrollment: 310,299 students (a ~1% decline from 313,341 the prior year).
β’ Traditional districts: 268,282
β’ Public charters: 42,017
β’ This aligns with other recent figures (e.g., ~306,937β310k range in 2024β25 reports) and shows a plateau/ slight decline after earlier growth.
Public schools make up the large majority (~94β95%) of K-12 enrollment.
Private Schools
β’ Estimates vary but center around 16,000β19,000 students.
β’ Idaho State Board of Education (recent): nearly 18,000.
β’ 2021β22 data (NCES/PSS): ~19,077 students (5.7% of total).
β’ Other analyses (e.g., ~16,843 for grades 1β12 around 2023β24).
β’ There are ~155β168 private schools. Private enrollment is not officially tracked by the state (nor is homeschooling), so figures rely on surveys like the Private School Universe Survey (PSS) and estimates.
Total K-12 (public private): Around 328,000β330,000 (private share ~5β6%). This excludes homeschooled students, for which there are no precise statewide counts.