TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A report shows that enrollment at public schools in Washington state has declined by about 31,000 students compared to last year, mostly because of the pandemic.

Data from the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction released Wednesday shows there was an almost 3% decrease in K-12 school enrollment this September.

School officials say about a third of the decline, or more than 11,000 students, was because of parents not enrolling their kindergarten-age children or delaying their start in public school.

Port Angeles School District has lost the equivalent of 281 full-time students this year. 22% of those kids are home-schooling this year, 13% have enrolled in private school, and 6% have opted for some version of online learning that does not include the district.

Kindergarten enrollment is also down by about 40 students.