STAN GREER: Swathes Of K-12 Parents Are Dumping Schools Captured By Teachers Unions

Last month, education reporter Linda Jacobson, drawing largely on enrollment data furnished by the market research firm Burbio, published an eye-opening analysis of how public district schools are faring at attracting and retaining students after elected officials cancelled in-person instruction for the purported purpose of slowing the spread of COVID-19.

When combined with the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 state population data for selected age groups and the National Education Association (NEA) teacher union’s 2020-21 membership numbers for its 50 state affiliates, Jacobson’s analysis shows that, even after the lifting of COVID-era education restrictions nationwide, K-12 parents are still abandoning states with Big Labor-dominated government education. (RELATED: KEVIN MOONEY: This Democrat Governor Could Defy The Teachers Unions And Pass School Choice)

Overall, the most recent one-year trend in enrollment data for the 41 states that have already made public their enrollment numbers for the 2022-23 academic year shows a strong negative correlation between union density in the academic workforce and growth in students enrolled.

For example, in 2021 the aggregate K-12-aged (five-17 years old) population of the eight states with the biggest percentage enrollment declines since 2021-22 (Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, California, Louisiana and New Hampshire) was 14 million. Meanwhile, the aggregate K-12-aged population for the

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