The Washington Post released data finding that homeschooling in the U.S. has increased 51% since the 2017-18 school year. While the rate of homeschooling has declined after reaching a high of 63% in the 2020-21 school year, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of homeschooling continues to grow at a faster rate than other forms of schooling.
In the same period, private schooling has seen a 7% increase, while public school enrollment has decreased by 4%.
The National Center for Education Statistics estimated the number of homeschooled students in the U.S. ranges from 1.9 million to 2.7 million. The uncertainty about the total number of homeschooled students stems from the fact that several states don’t collect such statistics.
The report identified Washington, D.C., New York, South Dakota and California as the states with the highest increase in homeschooling. Homeschooling in those states skyrocketed by more than 100 percent.
The increased popularity of homeschooling comes as concerns about the presence of sexually explicit material in school libraries as well as the curriculum itself, have led to tense exchanges at school board meetings across the U.S.
Amid the nationwide surge in homeschooling, some states have taken action to provide financial support for parents seeking to provide their children with an alternative to public schools.