Many students across the country participated in school from home for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were closed to stop the viral spread. Now, more than two years into the pandemic, many haven’t stopped – even if their local schools are open.
According to data obtained and analyzed by the Associated Press, “homeschooling numbers this year dipped from last year’s all-time high, but are still significantly above pre-pandemic levels.”
Data from 18 states shared with outlet showed that the number of homeschooling students increased by 63% in the 2020-2021 school year, then fell by 17% in the 2021-2022 school year. Many parents and teachers were dissatisfied with virtual learning plans, and the AP said the reasons some parents turned to homeschooling include health concerns and disagreement with school policies.
For example, Minnesota reported that 27,801 students are being homeschooled now, compared to 30,955 during the last school year. Before the pandemic, homeschool figures were around 20,000.
In suburban Buffalo, N.Y., Linda McCarthy said her two children are never going back to traditional school because they have “thrived” since they now have “lessons tailored to their interests, learning styles and schedules.”
“There’s no more homework ’til the wee hours of the morning, no more tears because we couldn’t get things done,” McCarthy explained.
College Prep Academy in California told local outlet Action News Now that their homeschooling enrollment has increased since the pandemic began. One parent said she decided to enroll her daughter because virtual education impacted her ability to learn.
“She was ripped out of school for six months and pulled back in, and it created separation anxiety which also caused her not to want to go to school; within this whole year, they have lost so much learning and stability, and it’s an up and down cycle,” said the parent.
The California Department of Education said applications homeschooling applications doubled from 2019 to 2021, according to Action News Now.
Illinois, on the other hand, is one of 11 states that doesn’t require homeschooling families to register. Last summer, a Chalkbeat report said that 10,000 students Chicago Public Schools thought to be missing, or not returning to classrooms might have decided to go the homeschooling route.
CPS continued to struggle with mask mandates and COVID-19 testing during the 2021-22 school year.
Many Black families have decided to go with homeschooling for their children. Homeschooling numbers for Black families increased by five times, from 3.3% to 16.1%, from spring 2020 to the fall. Andrea Thomas, a Black mother, said she wanted her children to learn more about Black history than she did while she was in school.
“I wanted them to have a deeper understanding of history and the flaws within our history,” she told Time.
According to an NPR report from last month, homeschooling in Virginia has increased by 40% since 2019, partly because “many parents to realize that homeschooling is a possible lifestyle,” during the pandemic.
Homeschooling previously increased in popularity before the pandemic from 1999 to 2012, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. For the following years, it stayed steady at around 2 million students. Then, from spring 2020 to fall 2020, the number of children who were homeschooled (not including students who were participating in class virtually through their school) shot up by 5.6%.
As homeschooling rates remain higher than normal, there are still no federal guidelines for it, leading to a lack of uniformity in reporting requirements.
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