New data shows homeschooling rates continue to surge

October 8, 2021 carleyshaffer1 US 0

NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: Five-year-old Lois Copley-Jones, who is the photographer's daughter, does her Maths studies in her bedroom on January 25, 2021 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England. Under current government policy, schools in England wouldn't open before the February half-term break at the earliest, but the Prime Minister has declined to commit to reopening them before Easter. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Five-year-old Lois Copley-Jones, who is the photographer’s daughter, does her Math studies in her bedroom on January 25, 2021. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:30 PM PT – Friday, October 8, 2021

Homeschooling rates in the U.S. continue to see a dramatic increase amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Census Bureau released its Household Pulse Survey on Friday, showing a significant uptick in homeschooling this year.

The new data reveals the number of households with at least one homeschooled child, more than doubled from 5.4 percent to 11.1 percent this March. According to the Director of Research at the Home School Legal Defense Association in Virginia, Steve Duvall, “COVID last year was the number one reason people started to homeschool. That made a lot of people try this for the first time.”

Experts said many parents tried homeschooling for the first time in 2020, prompting other families to try it as well. They added parents weren’t confident in schools’ ability to successfully execute remote learning.

“Right now, it doesn’t seem like the growth of homeschooling is slowing down any” said Duvall. “It doesn’t look like the end is in sight.”