(WBAP/KLIF) – According to the most recent data released by the Texas Education Agency, withdrawals from public school to homeschool in the spring of 2021 were 40% up over the prior year.
The Texas Home School Coalition said this week that it fielded 1,702 inquiries from new homeschoolers this past August. That is below the August 2020 numbers and 2021 peak numbers, but still within the range of pre-covid August numbers, which averaged between 1,500 and 2,000 inquiries each August.
“While we don’t have any definitive data on how the tragedy in Uvalde is driving decisions to homeschool, we do often see a spike in homeschooling following mass shootings,” said THSC Director, Jeremy Newman. “We also know that concern about safety and the school environment are the reasons that parents cite as the most important reasons they chose to homeschool.”
Based on U.S. Census data, THSC estimates that there are currently 750,000 homeschool students in Texas; this is more than all private and charter school students combined. So far, the data shows that the rate of homeschooling families going back to public school has not increased.
Copyright 2022. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved.
