Number of Homeschooled Children Increases in America

According to a recent report, homeschooling is on the rise across the U.S. The Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy's Homeschool Research Lab published data analysis last month looking at how homeschooling is faring across the nation.

"Twenty states either do not collect or do not report homeschool participation data, and we know little about trends in those states," the report's author, Angela R. Watson, wrote. She continued, "The other thirty states do collect and report, and we have reports from twenty-one states so far and expect the other nine to report over the next few months. Of those twenty-one states, nineteen reported an increase, but the patterns of those increases are most interesting."

Watson observed that homeschooling "grew rapidly" when schools were closed due to COVID-19 lockdowns, but students were largely anticipated to "return to more traditional schools" once lockdowns ended. However, the number of homeschooled children across the analyzed states has actually increased, instead of declining or returning to pre-COVID levels. "What we see with the most recent increases in state-reported homeschool participation is something new -- these numbers are not driven by the pandemic," Watson noted.

The report pointed to New Hampshire as an example of what was expected: the state saw a massive leap in homeschooled children, from roughly 3,500 in 2019-2020 to over 6,000 in 2020-2021. Since then, the number of homeschooled children has gradually decreased to slightly lower than before COVID lockdowns.

However, even here, homeschooling may not have decreased so much. Watson noted that "insider reports indicate that the decline in New Hampshire is likely related to the state's Education Freedom Account (EFA) and how homeschool students who receive public funding are no longer counted as part of the state's total homeschooling number." She added, "So, this decline may not truly reflect a decrease in actual homeschool participation, but may be just a change in how students are counted in this state."

In fact, New Hampshire is one of only two states that showed a decline in reported homeschooling. Three states -- Louisiana, South Carolina, and South Dakota -- showed evidence of what Watson called "continued, growth," meaning that there was no decline in homeschooling following COVID closures. In Louisiana, the number of children being homeschooled rose to just over 15,000 during the 2020-2021 academic year, but has only continued to increase.

In South Carolina, the number of children being homeschooled went from just over 20,000 in 2019-2020 to just shy of 30,000 the following year, and has risen to well over 30,000 since then. South Dakota saw over 6,600 children being homeschooled in 2020-2021, up from barely 5,000 the year before, but over 10,000 children are being homeschooled now.

"The other sixteen states show a rebounding trend, meaning that there was a post-pandemic decline, in some cases several years of a decline, and then, in 2023-2024, the number of homeschoolers increased again," Watson explained. Arkansas had about 22,000 homeschooled students from 2019-2020, but that number rose to over 30,000 from 2020-2021. 

The number dipped down in 2022-2023 but is on its way back to 30,000 as of 2023-2024. Delaware saw similar trends, rising from approximately 3,000 homeschooled students in 2019-2020 to nearly 5,000 in 2020-2021. Again, the number declined to just under 3,500 in 2022-2023, but climbed again to approximately 4,500 in 2023-2024.

A number of states also reported "the highest-ever number of homeschoolers" on record, Watson noted. She continued, "These include the continuous growth states and North Dakota, a rebounding state that reported a record number of homeschooled students in 2023-2024 and a 24% increase over the prior year." 

She added, "Rhode Island, also a rebounding state, reported a 67% increase over the prior year, while Wyoming also hit an all-time high with an 8% increase over the prior year." Watson also observed that the actual number of children being homeschooled may be higher than what the state reports, adding, "we consider these counts as the minimum number of homeschooled students in a state."

Watson pointed out that the numbers being reported are the actual number of homeschooled students, not percentages. "So the increase is even more interesting because the overall number of U.S. students is declining due in part to declining birth rates. 

In other words, ultimately we see that the number of homeschooled students is going up as the total number of U.S. students in going down," she wrote. She also observed, "While there is a clear growth trend in homeschooling, the reason for that growth is unknown. What is clear is that this time, the growth is not driven by a global pandemic or sudden disruptions to traditional schooling. Something else is driving this growth."

The Washington Stand asked Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council, what might explain the growth in homeschooling trends across the country. "The reason for homeschooling is often quite simple: parents not trusting their children's education and moral formation to public or private schools," Kilgannon answered.

"This can be motivated by academic performance, chaotic classroom environments, a child being bullied, or something even more personal like a child's physical or mental health challenges," she continued. "As federal, state, and local governments increase regulations on private school and charter school options, more families may find homeschooling the public school alternative that is right for them."

Originally published at The Washington Stand