More Than Half of LGISD Students Economically Disadvantaged

In last Friday’s paper we reported on enrollment data from local public schools published recently by the Texas Tribune’s Public Schools Explorer. Here’s a look at some more demographic data on local schools from the Texas Tribune.

The database tracks the number of economically disadvantaged students at each school going back to 2016. This number is based on the count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or other public assistance.

In 2026, 55.6 percent of La Grange ISD students qualified as economically disadvantaged, which was up 4.6 points from 2016. At Schulenburg ISD, 69.4 percent of students qualified as economically disadvantaged, up 11.4 percent since 2016. That number was 44.3 percent at Flatonia ISD this year, down 17.4 percent since 2016. Fayetteville ISD had the lowest number of economically disadvantaged students in Fayette County, just 17.5 percent of the total this year, down 13.7 percent since 2016. Economically disadvantaged students at Round Top-Carmine ISD were 33.9 percent of the student body, down 3.6 percent since 2016.

The percent of students at risk of dropping out was calculated with criteria such as students with limited English proficiency, homelessness, or involvement in the justice center.

That number for La Grange ISD was 48.5 percent in 2026, up 4.9 points since 2016. Just over 49 percent of students at Schulenburg ISD are considered at risk of dropping out this year, up 5.4 percent from 2016. Flatonia ISD had 29.6 percent of students at risk of dropping out this year, up 4.2 percent since 2016. Fayetteville ISD had 21.4 percent of students at risk of dropping out this year, down 13.2 percent since 2016. Round Top-Carmine ISD had the lowest number of students at risk of dropping out, just 19.7 percent, which was down 11.5 percent since 2016.

The percent of special education students at La Grange ISD was 22.1 percent in 2026, up 13.8 points since 2016. At Schulenburg ISD, that number was 26.2 percent this year, up 15.2 percent since 2016. Special education students at Flatonia ISD accounted for 17.1 percent of the student body, up 8.2 percent since 2016. Fayetteville had 12.7 percent of students qualifying for special education services, up 4.2 percent since 2016. Special education students made up 17.6 percent of the total at Round Top-Carmine ISD, up 7.9 percent since 2016.

The percent of students qualifying as gifted and talented at La Grange ISD was 6.8 percent in 2026, down one percent since 2016. At Schulenburg ISD, eight percent of students qualified as gifted and talented, down 0.4 percent since 2016. Flatonia ISD had 6.6 percent of student qualifying as gifted and talented this year, down 3.5 percent since 2016. Gifted and talented students at Fayetteville ISD accounted for 11.7 percent of the total, up 5.7 percent since 2016. The number of gifted and talented students at Round Top-Carmine ISD was not reported.

A few of these trends are noteworthy. Only Fayetteville ISD had an increase in the number of gifted and talented students. All schools showed an increase in the number of special education students. The three larger school districts, La Grange ISD, Schulenburg ISD and Flatonia ISD, all showed a slight increase in the number of students at risk of dropping out. The two smaller schools, Fayetteville ISD and Round Top-Carmine ISD, showed significant decreases in the number of students at risk of dropping out.

The percentage of K-12 students qualifying as economically disadvantaged provides some insight into the relative prosperity in each community, at least among families of school-aged children. Schulenburg showed a significant increase in that category, from 58 percent in 2016 to 69.4 percent this year, indicating an economic decline. Flatonia’s percent of economically disadvantaged students dropped dramatically, from 61,7 percent in 2016 to 44.3 percent this year, indicating an economic revival.

Explore more of the Texas Tribune’s data online at schools.texastribune.org.