When a failing school system claims it knows children better than parents, homeschooling’s rise isn’t radical—it’s a rational response to an education and mental health crisis.
he New York Times recently published an op-ed titled Home-Schooled Kids Are Not All Right. Its author calls for sweeping government oversight in regard to homeschool families and concludes that the government knows better than parents when it comes to our children and how they should be educated.
The author also calls for “an authority outside the home” to protect children from their parents.
As a mother of four and a parenting expert, this article raised serious red flags, gave me chills, and left me genuinely questioning how this narrative is still being pushed.
I am currently homeschooling three of my four sons. Our sons came to my husband and me and asked for the change to homeschooling. They said public school was unbearable, unhealthy, and suffocating their growth on many levels. We said yes without hesitation and have been charting new territory together ever since. We are seizing the day, finding academic and emotional success, and are able to tailor learning to their interests, versus witnessing our sons be stuffed into a dysfunctional and unhealthy box otherwise known as public school, and best of all, we get to really live.
In 2024, approximately 3.7 million U.S. students (6.7%) were homeschooled, which was a large jump from 2.5 million in 2019. This rapid growth primarily stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic, when families began to have more of a pulse on what was being taught in the public school system.
Additional drivers of the increased homeschool trend are parents citing the public school environment. Bullying and safety have become serious issues—2025 saw at least 231 school shootings, and research indicates an estimated 10% (4-5 million) of K–12 students will experience some form of educator sexual misconduct by the time they graduate from high school. Other issues include dissatisfaction with academics and moral/religious instruction as the top reasons for choosing homeschooling.
The most current, official data from Fall 2022 shows around 49.6 million students enrolled in U.S. public elementary and secondary schools (PreK-12). It is expected that enrollment in public schools will continue to decline, and this forecast highlights that homeschooling is gaining ground and public schools are losing their edge.
Good idea school vouchers for everyone defund education in md. Eliminate the marxist boe and teachers unions..
Great idea!!
The government has utterly failed with the children it has full time in government schools. Ridiculous to expect it to be able to do anything positive for homeschooled students.