Hispanic students are now the majority in Texas public schools, according to the state education agency

Slightly more than 50% of Texas' 4.9 million public school students are Hispanic, according to state data from the 2010-2011 school year. In the previous school year, slightly less than 49% of students were Hispanic. Texas has the country's second-largest public school system behind California, where the education department reported that Hispanic students became the majority during the 2009-2010 school year. Hispanics have long been the fastest-growing student group in Texas.