East RGV News

The majority of students in Cameron County school districts were Hispanic in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Of the 186,034 students attending Cameron County schools, 89.7% were Hispanic. White students comprised the second-largest ethnic group in the county, making up 4.8% of the student body.

In the previous school year, Hispanic students were also the most represented group in Cameron County school districts, comprising 90% of the student body.

Idea Public Schools and Premier High Schools had the most diverse student body in the county, including white, American Indian, Black, Asian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and multiracial students.

In the 2023-24 school year, the total number of students enrolled in the county increased 1% compared to the previous year.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with Cameron County.

Texas is found to be one of the least educated states in the U.S. A study from WalletHub ranked Texas 41st out of 50 states in terms of the quality of the educational system and how successful students were.

More than 5.4 million students are enrolled in public schools across Texas. Nearly one million of them live in rural areas where options for local public schools are few and far between.

Education in Texas is often a hot button issue, especially as test scores lag behind other states.

“The problems commonly cited are flaws in the school financing system, relatively low teacher salary, poor test performance by students…dropouts from traditional schools in favor of charter schools…gun violence, and mental health issues,” claimed the Texas Almanac.

District	Most prevalent ethnic group	Percent of Total Student Body	Total enrollment
Brownsville ISD	Hispanic	98.4%	37,065
Harlingen CISD	Hispanic	94.5%	16,780
Harmony Science Academy (San Antonio)	Hispanic	87.7%	4,855
Horizon Montessori Public Schools	Hispanic	81.3%	1,424
Idea Public Schools	Hispanic	85.6%	76,819
Jubilee Academies	Hispanic	89.1%	6,017
La Feria ISD	Hispanic	96.7%	2,882
Los Fresnos CISD	Hispanic	96.6%	10,546
Point Isabel ISD	Hispanic	91.2%	1,857
Premier High Schools	Hispanic	55.6%	7,851
Promesa Public Schools	Hispanic	94.4%	963
Raul Yzaguirre Schools for Success	Hispanic	97.6%	1,888
Rio Hondo ISD	Hispanic	96.1%	1,494
San Benito CISD	Hispanic	98.3%	9,126
Santa Maria ISD	Hispanic	99.3%	540
Santa Rosa ISD	Hispanic	98.7%	931
South Texas ISD	Hispanic	85.2%	4,531
Triumph Public High Schools-Rio Grande Valley	Hispanic	98.7%	465