Public education was the way to go. Then, in 2020, the pandemic hit, and children were sent home. Parents became the unwilling teachers of their children. Whether through interaction with the public school teacher or through other educational means, the parent was responsible. Following the pandemic, as public institutions slowly reopened, parents found themselves in the driver’s seat of the child’s education. While many returned to the public school, many more remained home. And since then, more children have been removed from the public eye as parents realize they can teach their children.
Numbers
After the pandemic and public health measures were halted, there was a brief drop in homeschooling as families returned to the former habits of public schooling. However, that did not last long. Homeschooling began growing in the 2023-2024 school year, with that growth continuing into last year.
Angela Watson of the Johns Hopkins University School of Education’s Homeschool Hub wrote,
In the 2024-2025 school year, homeschooling continued to grow across the United States, increasing at an average rate of 5.4%.” This is nearly three times the pre-pandemic homeschooling growth rate of around 2% [1].
She added that more than a third of the states for which data are available report their highest homeschooling numbers ever, even exceeding peaks reached when many public and private schools were closed during the pandemic.
DIY Family Education
The latest figures likely underestimate growth in homeschooling because not all homeschooling families comply with registration requirements where they exist. Families who use the portable funding available through increasingly popular Education Savings Accounts to pay for homeschooling costs are not counted as homeschoolers in several states.
Whatever the reasons, homeschooling is here and growing as parents want more control over their child’s education.
Notes:
- ^ Homeschooling in America Grows to Record Numbers. (go back ↩)
