Texans parents are homeschooling children due to fears over safety | Ash Jurberg

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A recent Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey looked at the impact of COVID-19 on American life, and one of the things that stood out was the big increase in Texans choosing to homeschool their children.

At the end of the 2019-20 school year, 4.5% of Texans chose to homeschool, and by the start of the 2020-21 school year, this had jumped to12%. This increase was one of the biggest nationally.

The report stated that:

“It’s clear that in an unprecedented environment, families are seeking solutions that will reliably meet their health and safety needs, their childcare needs and the learning and socio-emotional needs of their children.”  Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey

The Texas Homeschool Coalition found that 30,000 students across Texas withdrew from a public or charter school and switched to homeschooling during the spring of 2021, an increase of 40% over the previous year.

The increase in homeschooling does create issues for Texas school districts. For example, a school district stops receiving money for a student when a student leaves a public school to homeschool, even though its operational costs remain the same.

“You’re creating massive inefficiencies in the system because you’ve got empty seats, if you will, in both the [public schools] and in the charters, but again, expenses are not going down as students move here and there,” Brian Woods, superintendent of the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio

Your thoughts

Have you moved your children to homeschool? What are the reasons for this? Do you believe more should be done in the Texan education system to improve health and safety at school?

Please leave a comment below with your opinion and share this article with others so they can join the conversation.