Diversity fuels student enrollment boom
The number of students in public elementary and high schools swelled to 49.5 million in 2003, breaking the 48.7 million mark set by school-age baby boomers in 1970. Students identified as minorities made up 42 percent of public school enrollment in 2003, up from 22 percent in 1972, while the share of students who were white decreased to 58 percent from 78 percent.
