This session is part of 2025 Crossover Day. Attendance is open to all SXSW EDU registrants as well as all SXSW registrants. As always, SXSW strongly believes in the power of mixing creative communities.

Enrollment in public schools is rapidly declining: 1.2 million fewer students enrolled in public schools in the 2022–23 school year than pre-pandemic. Districts nationwide are grappling with the double burden of declining enrollment and a looming fiscal cliff as government COVID-19 funds dry up. This session will feature a panel discussion with leaders from the nation’s largest school districts to discuss their current challenges, strategies for addressing declining enrollment, and opportunities for innovation.