Charter and private schools are growing amid the pandemic as hundreds of thousands of parents take their children out of public schools.
Approximately 1.4 million students were taken out of public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and transferred to alternative educational systems such as charter and private schools, according to a recent report.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released a report analyzing student enrollment trends in 41 states and the District of Columbia during the 2020-2021 school year.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic last year, public schools across the country halted in-person classes, switching to virtual learning at all levels to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The lockdowns on public education prompted many parents to consider alternatives, as many states exempted private schools and other venues from government lockdown mandates.
In March, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the percentage of households that were homeschooling had increased from 5.4% in the 2019-2020 school year to 11.1% the next school year.
In the report the Census Bureau concluded — “It’s clear that in an unprecedented environment, families are seeking solutions that will reliably meet their health and safety needs, their childcare needs, and the learning and socio-emotional needs of their children.”