According to the Gallup polling organization, the number of homeschooling students in the U.S. was around 5% in 2019. According to the same organization in 2020, homeschooling had increased to 10% when public schools began to go online.

In the summer of 2020, THSC began to publicize the dramatic increase in our call volume of those interested in homeschooling and the 1,700% increase in the use of our online withdrawal tool.

We did scores of interviews with the media all over the state of Texas and the U.S. We noted in the fall of 2020 that the indication of a dramatic rise in homeschooling in Texas was supported by the reports all over Texas of public schools citing a decline in enrollment.

Recently The U.S. Census Bureau released a report of extensive polling done in the spring of 2020 and the fall of 2020. For the first time, this polling on the numbers of homeschooled children was done not only on a national level but also on a statewide basis.

The results of that polling support what Gallup found as well as what we documented in Texas. According to this national and state-by-state poll, homeschooling more than doubled across the nation! On a national basis, those numbers went from 5% in 2019 to 11.1% in the fall of 2020.

Even more dramatic, Texas homeschooling numbers nearly tripled between the spring of 2020 and the fall of 2020, going from 4.5% in April/May to 12.3% in September/October of 2020.

This amazing data shows that the most significant growth sector was among minority students. An increase among Hispanic students went up 6%, from 6.1% to 12.1%. Black students also increased homeschooling notably, up to an astounding 13%! The smallest increase was among white students going from 5.7% to 9.7%.

With that backdrop, it is not surprising that those who oppose the freedom that Texas families and many other states have to choose to teach their children at home are seeking to get states to restrict homeschooling severely.

In 2020, a Harvard Law professor made huge waves when she planned a “Summit on Homeschooling” because she was promoting a “presumptive ban on homeschooling.” According to her, this would mean that families could not teach their children unless they received specific permission from some government official. The invitation-only conference was canceled due to the pandemic.

Harvard has announced that they will sponsor an online conference to discuss the “Post-Pandemic Future of Homeschooling” May 6-June 17, 2021. This conference looks like a much more balanced one than the one scheduled last year.

It is clear that there are a significant number of people who believe that the right of families to educate their children should be restricted.

Families must be aware of these issues and ready to defend the God-given right of parents to raise their children as they see fit, inducing homeschooling them.

We believe in Keeping Texas Families Free! As homeschooling grows, so does our opposition. Become a THSC member today to help us make sure homeschooling remains free across Texas.