Homeschooling in the United States
Homeschooling constitutes the education of about 3.4% of U.S. students (approximately two million students) as of 2012. The number of homeschoolers in the United States has increased significantly over the past few decades since the end of the 20th century. In the United States, the Supreme Court has ruled that parents have a fundamental right to direct the education of their children.[1] The right to homeschool is not frequently questioned in court, but the amount of state regulation and help that can or should be expected continues to be subject to legal debate.
Prevalence[edit]
Originally, homeschooling in the United States was practiced mainly underground or in rural areas. In the 1970s, several books called attention to homeschooling, and more families began to homeschool their children.[3] As of 2012, about 1.8 million students were homeschooled.[4] In 2016, this number rose to 2.3 million.[5]
The United States Department of Education estimates that 1.5 million K–12 students were homeschooled in the United States in 2007 (with a confidence interval of 1.3 million to 1.7 million), constituting nearly three percent of students. The National Home Education Research Institute estimates this number to be 1.92 million.[5] This was up from 13,000 in 1973,[5] 20,000 in the early 1980s,[6] 93,000 in 1983,[5] 275,000 in 1990,[5] 1 million in 1997,[5] 850,000 in 1999,[7] 1.4 million in 2003,[5] and 1.92 million in 2007.[5] In these estimations, students were defined as being homeschooled if their parents reported them as being schooled at home instead of at a public or private school for at least part of their education, and if their part-time enrollment in public or private school did not exceed 35 hours a week, and excluded students who were schooled at home primarily because of a temporary illness.[7] About four out of five homeschoolers were homeschooled only, while about one out of five homeschoolers was also enrolled in public or private school for 25 hours or less per week. In 2007, 16% of homeschooled students attended a public or private school on a part-time basis.[7]
Increasing numbers of homeschoolers partook in private school, public school, and home partnerships. Homeschool families use them to help teach difficult subjects, such as foreign languages and sciences. In addition, many families do partnerships to help their children compete in academics and athletics with non-homeschooled children. Some students take one or two classes at traditional school campuses while others spend several days per week on campuses designed to educate part-time students.[3]
In August 2020, Gallup released a poll indicating that 10% of parents planned to homeschool in the coming year, double the previous percentage.[8]
Legality[edit]
History of legal controversy[edit]
The legality of homeschooling in the United States has been debated by educators, lawmakers, and parents since the beginnings of compulsory schooling in Massachusetts in 1852.
For decades the source of debate was focused on whether it was legal for parents to withhold their children from school and educate them in a home setting, pitting homeschooling advocates against those in favor of organized public schools.
Since the late 1980s, the focus on the legality of homeschooling in general is no longer in serious debate but legal questions have shifted to whether homeschooling communities can access state school funds, facilities, and resources. There are also legal questions over the degree of control that a state can exercise on homeschooling families regarding areas like curricula and standardized testing.
In 2008, a three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that children must be taught by a credentialed tutor or person with a teaching credential. The court stated that "It is clear that the education of the children at their home, whatever the quality of that education, does not qualify for the private full-time day school or credentialed tutor exemptions from compulsory education in a public full-time day school."[15] The court rejected the parent's reliance on Yoder's holding regarding religious choice.[15] However, in March 2008, the court agreed to rehear the case and vacated its prior decision. In August 2008, the court issued a new decision unanimously reversing its earlier decision and the Court further stated that homeschooling was legal in California.[16]
U.S. Supreme Court precedent[edit]
In the United States, homeschooling is lawful in all fifty states. The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on homeschooling specifically, but in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972)[17] it supported the rights of Amish parents to keep their children out of public schools for religious reasons. The Court has ruled, however, that parents have a fundamental right to "establish a home and bring up children" along with the right to "worship God according to the dictates of [their] own conscience."[18] This combination of rights is the basis for calling homeschooling a fundamental right under the Supreme Court's concept of liberty protected by the Due Process Clause. Laws that restrict fundamental rights are subject to strict scrutiny, the highest standard, if the law is challenged in the courts.
The final two sentences from the Supreme Court's opinion in Runyon v. McCrary cited Pierce v. Society of Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, 268 U.S. 510 (1925) and the Court holds that a State may set educational standards but may not limit how parents choose to meet those educational standards.[19]
In Runyon v. McCrary the Court analyzed its prior rulings on educational choice:
Curricula[edit]
Curriculum requirements vary from state to state. Some states require homeschoolers to submit information about their curriculum or lesson plans. Other states (such as Texas) just require that certain subjects be covered and do not require submission of the curriculum.[55][56] Still others, such as North Carolina, view homeschools as a type of private school, affording each homeschool the freedom to choose the curriculum appropriate for its students. While many complete curricula are available from a wide variety of secular and religious sources, many families choose to use a variety of resources to cover the required subjects. In fact, it is not uncommon for a homeschooled student to earn a number of college credits from a 2- or 4-year college before completing the 12th grade.
Some states offer public-school-at-home programs. These online or virtual, public schools (usually charter schools) mimic major aspects of the homeschooling paradigm, for example, instruction occurs outside of a traditional classroom, usually in the home. However, students in such programs are truly public school students and are subject to all or most of the requirements of other public school students. When parents enroll their children in such a program, they effectively surrender control over the curriculum and program to the public school, although a casual observer might think they are homeschooling.
Some public-school-at-home programs give parents leeway in curriculum choice; others require use of a specified curriculum. Full parental or student control over the curriculum and program, however, is a hallmark feature of homeschooling. Taxpayers pay the cost of providing books, supplies, and other needs, for public-school-at-home students, just as they do for conventional public school students. The U.S. Constitution's prohibition against establishing religion applies to public-school-at-home programs, so taxpayer money cannot lawfully be used to purchase a curriculum that is religious in nature.
A minority of states have statutes that require public schools to give homeschooled students access to district resources, such as school libraries, computer labs, extracurricular activities, or even academic courses. In some communities, homeschoolers meet with a teacher periodically for curriculum review and suggestions. The laws of some states give districts the option of giving homeschooled students access to such resources.
Public libraries will also foster homeschooling. Librarians are able to aid in the procurement of resources needed for homeschooling such as internet access, database access, and interlibrary loan material. Striking up a conversation with a librarian might lead to new knowledge about available resources, as librarians work with homeschooled patrons often.[57]
Access to interscholastic athletic competition varies from state to state.
Homeschooling and college admissions[edit]
Many students choose to pursue higher education at the college or university level, some through dual enrollment while in high school and through standardized tests such as the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and DANTES Subject Standard Tests (DSST).
The College Board recommends that homeschooled students keep detailed records and portfolios to aid them in the admission process.[61]
Over the last several decades, US colleges and universities have become increasingly open to accepting homeschooled students.[62] 75% of colleges and universities have an official policy for homeschool admissions and 95% have received applications from homeschoolers for admission.[63] Documents that may be required for admission vary, but may include ACT/SAT scores, essays, high school transcript, letters of recommendation, SAT 2 scores, personal interviews, portfolio, and a GED.[63] 78% of admissions officers expect homeschooled students to do as well or better than traditional high school graduates at college.[63] Students coming from a homeschool graduated from college at a higher rate than their peers¬—66.7 percent compared to 57.5 percent—and earned higher grade point averages along the way.[64]
Such students have matriculated at over 900 different colleges and universities, including institutions with highly selective standards of admission such as the US military academies, Rice University, Haverford College, Harvard University, Stanford University, Cornell University, Northwestern University, Brown University, Dartmouth College, and Princeton University.[65]
Homeschool athletics[edit]
In 1994, retired NFL defensive end Jason Taylor, then a homeschool football player in Pennsylvania, engaged in a legal battle against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, the leading oversight association governing U.S. collegiate athletics) and its classification of homeschool athletes as essentially high school dropouts. Taylor's legal victory has provided a precedent for thousands of other homeschool athletes to compete in colleges and attain the same opportunities in education and professional development that other athletes enjoy.[66] Other homeschool students who have risen to the top of collegiate competition include NCAA 2005 champion tennis player Chris Lam, Kevin Johnson of the University of Tulsa basketball team, 2010-2011 Big South Player of the Year Jesse Sanders of the Liberty University Flames, and the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow from the University of Florida.[67][68] In 2012, another homeschool student was a Heisman Trophy finalist: Collin Klein of Kansas State University.
In Texas, Six-Man Football has also been popular among homeschoolers, with at least five teams being fielded for the 2008–2009 season. The top three places in the Texas Independent State Championship (also called "the Ironman Bowl") were claimed by homeschool teams.
There are several national homeschooling advocacy groups, such as:
There are many homeschooling conventions and conferences featuring exhibitors and workshops. There are two main types of homeschooling conventions: public and organization (Christian, secular, Catholic). Some larger shows in the United States include, but are not limited to the following:
The Constitution does not protect homeschooling in explicit terms. But a sound reading of Meyer and Pierce, the Supreme Court precedents that protect parents' rights to choose private over public schools, implies such a right.[88]