Modoc Joint Unified School District had the highest enrollment among Modoc County school districts, welcoming 810 students during the 2023-24 school year, according to the California Department of Education.
Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 50.1% of them were girls, 49.4% were boys, and 0.5% identified themselves as non-binary or did not specify their gender.
The most represented ethnicity among Modoc Joint Unified School District students was Hispanic or Latino, accounting for 19.6% of the student population.
Among the two districts in Modoc County, Surprise Valley Joint Unified School District ranked second in enrollment numbers with 88 students.
Modoc Joint Unified School District roughly covers schools within Modoc County and has a main office in Alturas.
In the previous school year, Modoc Joint Unified School District also had the highest number of students among Modoc County districts.
After peaking at 6.3 million in the early 2000s, public school enrollment in California has marked its seventh consecutive decline in the 2023-24 school year, with projections indicating it could fall to approximately 5.2 million by the 2033-34 school year. This trend is attributed to lower birth rates, slowed immigration, and families relocating out of state due to high housing costs. Rural and coastal districts have been particularly affected, facing tough decisions such as school closures and staffing reductions.
Although chronic absenteeism in California decreased in 2023, it remains double the pre-pandemic rate. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, chronic absenteeism in the state public schools reached 25% in 2023, up from 12% in 2019.
| District | City (main office) | Total Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Modoc Joint Unified School District | Alturas | 810 |
| Surprise Valley Joint Unified School District | Cedarville | 88 |
