(KRON) -- California schools could face budget cuts after a report showed the state had one of the largest student enrollment rate drops in the country, according to a data report from the Institute of Education Science (IES). According to the report, California has seen a 5.9 percent drop in publi c school enrollment from 2017 to 2022 -- among the highest percent changes in the county behind West Virginia, which saw a 7.7 percent decrease, and alongside other states including Hawaii and New Hampshire. "The impact on schools is real and immediate: because California funds schools based on average daily attendance, every empty seat means less money coming in," Kindra Britt with the California County Superintendents told KRON4. "That translates directly into budget deficits, staff layoffs, program cuts, and in some cases, school closures." "Across the nation, school enrollment has been dropping consistently for several years, driven by a combination of factors — and it's not limited to public schools," Britt continued. "In California specifically, declining birth rates and high housing costs are pushing families out of the state's most expensive regions, which is where we see the steepest declines. More recently, heightened immigration enforcement has added another layer, creating a climate of fear that is keeping students home." The state overall has lost nearly 1 million students since 2011 losing 124,600 students from the fall of 2025 to 2026 alone, according to the report. The report projects another 15.7 percent fall in enrollment by 2031 compared to 2022, the second largest percent change in the country right behind Hawaii at 16 percent. Governor Gavin Newsom did not propose any major budget cuts in his 2026-2027 budget for the state, which he released in January. He is set to release a revised budget in May and an enacted budget report in the summer. The data in this report was provided to the IES by the California State Department of Education. ...read more read less