For educational freedom to benefit students, they need learning options beyond their assigned district school. As school choice programs expand throughout the country, increased demand will likely spur increased supply. However, it’s important to be aware of the current situation and how existing private schools are faring.

Per our previous posts last August and November, things seemed to be improving for private schools, both in enrollment growth and reduced number of closures. After analyzing the closure and opening data from the past 2021–2022 school year, that trend looks to be continuing, although with some interesting additions.

Taking a look at Cato CEF’s Private Schooling Status Tracker, which monitors private school opening and closing announcements, the number of closures has continued to trend down while the number of openings has increased. Since May 2021, there have been 36 total closure announcements, only 12 of which were attributed directly to COVID. In contrast, March 2020 to April 2021 saw 145 total school closures, 122 of which cited COVID as a factor.

The majority of closure announcements continue to be Catholic schools. This is unsurprising given that a large percentage of private schools and students are Catholic. Moreover, Catholic schools likely have stronger media communication channels such as through a diocese that make it more likely to appear on the tracker’s alerts.

Although private school enrollment was higher in 2021, schools may not have completely returned to pre-pandemic levels. The 2022 National Catholic Education Association report showed that, while Catholic schools enjoyed a 3.8% nationwide enrollment boost in 2021, overall Catholic enrollment is still around 50,000 students fewer than pre-COVID levels.

Geographically, the recent closures are fairly spread out across the US, with 36% in the South, 30% in the Northeast, and 25% in the Midwest. The schools affected continue to be relatively inexpensive schools with an average tuition of around $5,700, far below the national private school average of just over $12,000 and the steeper financial cost of government schools at around $16,000 per student.

On the other side of the coin, there has been an encouraging spike in school opening announcements. Unsurprisingly, school openings were few and far between during COVID, with only 18 tracked between the start of COVID to April 2021. However, since May 2021 there have been 73 openings announced, with 29 already started in Fall 2021 and 8 opened so far in 2022. At least 27 of the new schools are slated to open this fall for the 2022–2023 school year.

An interesting relationship to note is the type of schools opening compared to those closing. Although most of the school closures are Catholic, a majority of the openings are not. Over half of the opening announcements were for independent, non-sectarian schools, followed by Protestant Christian and then Roman Catholic. The exact reason for this demographic shift is unclear; however, it could be a rise in non-religious affiliations or a higher demand for smaller, STEM-focused schools.

Even before COVID, private schools faced an uphill battle since they have to compete against “free” public schools. Yet survey after survey shows parents want more options for their children. That’s why the growing move to let funding follow students is crucial—it helps level the playing field to ensure it’s not only wealthier parents who can choose what works best for their children.

We know one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to education. A robust private school sector—including traditional schools and newer microschools or other alternatives along with religious and secular options—is an important part of the education landscape.