The popularity of homeschooling across multiple American states continues to surge, according to a major study from Cornell University and other related reports.
While rising numbers of homeschooled children in the United States will come as no surprise to those who have followed the topic in recent years, the Cornell analysis, centered mainly on the state of New York, brings the issue into even sharper focus.
According to Leslie Reynolds, a research support specialist at the Cornell University Program on Applied Demographics and the new report’s author, the numbers of New York children attending regular school plummeted from around 3.1 million to approximately 2.8 million between 2013-14 and 2023-24, with drops in 90 percent of the state’s districts.
“I think it makes people think, where are all the kids going?” Reynolds told NCPR public radio.
The answer, in many cases, is that they are attending homeschools or charter schools instead. Reynolds also referenced a dip in birth and fertility rates as a factor, with the shortfall not made up in migration to the state from domestic or international new residents.
Homeschooling saw a significant rise during the COVID-19 pandemic, but its increased imprint on the education landscape has also continued since. In the decade span of Reynolds’ research, the percentage of New York children to be homeschooled went up from 0.7 percent to 1.8 percent.
“Even though that seems like a small percentage, that’s still hundreds of thousands of children,” Reynolds added. “(COVID) showed us that virtual learning is an option or hybrid learning or that people who were homeschooled during the pandemic stayed homeschooled.”
Reynolds intended for her findings to spark further discussion, rather than provide definitive answers and described it in plain terms as “a set of numbers that’s all in one place that will give you more specific research questions or like studies.”
She added: “And that goes for decision makers, policy makers, researchers, so that you can at least have a starting point.”
As Reynolds referenced, as comprehensive as the Cornell study was, it was focused on one part of the country, albeit one of the most populous.
Yet the homeschooling trend is certainly not an isolated one. South Dakota is the fifth-least populous American state, and, perhaps given its largely rural nature, has seen homeschooling find a natural foothold.
While the state’s K-12 population dropped over the past year, according to the South Dakota Department of Education, enrollment in “alternative instruction” again grew, as reported by Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
Of South Dakota 163,053 K-12 students 83 percent attended public school, 9 percent enrolled in nonpublic schools and 8 percent took part in alternative instruction, essentially another term for homeschooling.
Though public school enrollment dipped by 1,736 statewide, alternative instruction rose by 944 to a total of 12,433 students.
The state’s second largest public school district, Rapid City, had the highest number of non-traditional students, with 1839. In the Sioux Falls area, eight of 11 districts saw an increase in alternative instruction numbers.
In 2024, then-South Dakota Gov. Kirsti Noem spoke positively about homeschooling as part of a push to provide parents with more educational options.
“Good education starts in the home and parents should have the tools to choose what educational path is best for their kids,” Noem said, shortly before accepting her current position as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.
Advances are being made elsewhere. In Maryland’s St. Mary’s County, a public school system revamp is hoping to introduce a program that would allow homeschooled students to become officially part of the county education system.
The county’s chief officer advisor Katie Kortokrax told Southern Maryland News she is trying to implement a smoother path for homeschooled students to receive official diplomas tied to the public system.
“Student services was like ‘how can we help these families?’” Kortokrax said. “‘How can we meet their needs while also not overwhelming our system?’”
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Families either involved in or interested in homeschooling are finding more resources and information than ever as options increase. Homeschool Yo Kids Expo 2026, a wide-ranging event designed to support and connect homeschooled families, will take place in Columbus, Miss.
Parents, students, education professionals and homeschool-themed vendors will be able to connect for what is described as a “full day of learning, resources and interaction.”
In Virginia, the homeschool movement appears closely tied to religious exemptions, following data release from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).
In 2024-25, the VDOE reported a 4.34 percent increase in students taught at home across all grades, totalling 56,008. Religious exemptions rose by 4.83% from 6,444 for the 2023-2024 school year to 6,755 in 2024-25.
In North Carolina, according to the Charlotte Observer, homeschooling is “once again on the rise”. The newspaper said an estimated 165,243 students were enrolled in home schools during the 2024-25 school year, the most since the pandemic.
Tracie Marsh, a regional liaison for North Carolinians for Home Education and leader of a home school group of 130 families, said parents and students were deserting public schools due to concerns over the quality of education.
“A lot of it is that North Carolina schools aren’t performing well in a lot of different counties,” Marsh said. “Parents are pulling them out to give them a higher quality of education and more personalized education.”
The reasons why parents and students may become interested in homeschooling options are extensive. Practical issues such as travel, especially in remote or rural areas, can be significant.
For others, like Marsh referenced, perceptions of quality shortages in the level of in-person education are at front of mind, matched by the ongoing increase in online or homeschool schooling availability.
Others take issue with the type of lessons being taught in public school, especially on moral grounds, while for some students heavily involved in sports or extra curricular activities, the flexibility of homeschooling carries great appeal.
Such a topic is always going to carry some level of divided opinion, however, one thing is increasingly clear. Homeschooling is undergoing a period of growth, and shows little sign of slowing down.