White Students Now a Minority in School; Hispanic Numbers Surge

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For the first time ever, U.S. public schools are projected this fall to have more minority students than white students enrolled, a shift largely fueled by growth in the number of Hispanic children, the Associated Press reports.

White students are still most populous, but their numbers dipped just below 50% for the first time.

Here is the racial/ethnic breakdown of students, according to National Center for Education Statistics:

• 49.8% White
• 25% Hispanic
• 15% Black
• 5% Asian
• 5% Other

“The shift creates new academic realities, such as the need for more English language instruction, and cultural ones, meaning changes in school lunch menus in the Southwest and elsewhere to include tortillas and other offerings to reflect students’ tastes,” according to the Associated Press report. But it also brings some complex societal questions that often fall to school systems to address, including issues of immigration, poverty, diversity and inequity.”