The Mississippi Department of Education said Monday that kindergarten enrollment has decreased and home schooling has increased this academic year, largely explaining the drop of more than 23,000 students enrolled in public schools. Photo by Jessica Lewis on Unsplash

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Department of Education said Monday that kindergarten enrollment has decreased and home schooling has increased this academic year, largely explaining the drop of more than 23,000 students enrolled in public schools.

The department said in a news release that 442,627 students enrolled in Mississippi public schools as of Sept. 30. That compared to 465,913 a year earlier.

It said kindergarten enrollment was down 4,345 from last year.

The number of home-schooled students increased by 6,731. It was 18,758 last year and is 25,489 this year.

Enrollment in Mississippi public schools has dropped by an average of 5,511 students each year over the past three years. The decrease this year coincides with uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, although the Department of Education news release did not cite reasons that families have chosen different paths for their children's schooling.

Public schools were forced to close for in-person instruction in the spring, during the final weeks of the previous academic year. This fall, they have offered a mix of in-person and online instruction.

“Mississippi school districts have been working under extraordinary conditions to ensure all students in their communities are engaged in learning,” State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright said in the news release Monday. “Teachers, principals, districts leaders, school attendance officers and families have done a heroic job meeting the daily challenges of the pandemic.”

The department said some students have moved out of state and some have enrolled in private schools.

Mississippi school attendance officers have been working to ensure all compulsory school-age children whose families have not re-enrolled them in public schools are registered for some type of schooling. As of Thursday, the officers had validated the status of all but 1,156 students. The department said that figure is similar to previous years.

Mississippi law requires children ages 6-17 to be enrolled in public or private school or a home-school program. Kindergarten is not required, but children enrolled in kindergarten are required to attend unless they are sick or have another valid reason for being absent.