Dallas

Education

There are 40 public school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and more than 250 private and parochial schools in the area. The Dallas Independent School District is the tenth-largest school district in the United States, with 220 schools and 157,000 students. The Dallas Independent School District has ten magnet high schools, two secondary special education schools, and five secondary alternative schools.

Until the 1880s Dallas schools were private. In 1877 Dallas voters turned down a proposal to levy taxes to form a public school system. It wasn't until 1881 that the tax levy was passed, and in 1884 the first Dallas public schools opened.

Dallas and its nearby communities are home to 45 colleges and universities, which attract more than 250,000 students to the area each year. Public universities in the Dallas area include the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Dallas, and Texas Women's University. Private colleges and universities include the Dallas Baptist College, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, and Texas Wesleyan University.

Dallas has a large community college enrollment. The Dallas County Community College District consists of seven colleges located throughout Dallas County. These community colleges enroll nearly 100,000 students each semester.