Oakland Unified Cuts Newcomer Schools by Two-Thirds as Student Counts Plummet

Oakland Unified School District has reduced the number of middle and high schools offering newcomer services from 17 to just six this academic year. The contraction follows a steep drop in the number of immigrant students arriving for their first time in the state.

In the 2017-18 through 2024-25 school years, Oakland Unified consistently enrolled more than 1,300 new students from other countries each year, with the exception of the 2020-21 pandemic year. That figure fell to 498 for the 2025-26 year. As of October 7, only 212 new immigrant students had enrolled for the first time in the current 2026-27 school year, most of them at the elementary level.

The decline began in early 2025 when border crossings dropped abruptly amid changes in federal immigration policy. This reduction in new arrivals has strained districts that are already experiencing long-term enrollment losses.

Nicole Knight, executive director of English language learner and multilingual achievement at Oakland Unified, described the current numbers as extremely low. With fewer students, the district is moving newcomers into mainstream classes sooner than in previous years. Knight noted that this shift presents difficulties for teachers who may not have received specific training to support students who are just beginning to learn English or who have missed months or years of schooling.

The financial impact extends beyond staffing. Districts receive funding based on student enrollment, so fewer students means less money available for programs. Knight explained that new arrivals had previously helped keep bilingual immersion classes fully enrolled. She stated, "We are suffering from declining enrollment, and it does make visible how much newcomers were helping us stay afloat."

Los Angeles Unified experienced a similar trajectory. Newcomer enrollment dropped from 20,755 students in 2024-25 to 11,103 students in 2026-27. During the same period, the district's overall enrollment fell by 8.3%, while newcomer enrollment decreased by 46.5%.

Not all districts face the same severity of decline. In San Juan Unified near Sacramento, newcomer students decreased by 13.6%, from 974 in 2025-26 to 842 this year. Raj Rai, a district spokesperson, attributed the smaller drop to families arriving through refugee or Special Immigrant Visa programs rather than border crossings, as well as families relocating from other states. Statewide, the number of newcomer students fell from a record 236,958 in 2024-25 to 228,780 in 2025-26. Sam Finn, executive director of the California Newcomer Network, warned that the population is about to reach a cliff because the majority of current students entered before policy changes and are nearing the end of their three-year newcomer status.