Newman: 'A large number of new families are moving to home schooling'

The trend is growing. More Texas families are choosing to home-school their children this fall, and the Texas Home School Coalition reports that the all-time record set in 2020 looks like it won’t last long.

The coalition's weekly call and email volume hit 4,699 in mid-August, almost five times the peak of 1.037 set last year. By October 2020, 12.3% of Texas families were home schooling their children, almost three times the number from spring, when 4.5% chose that educational option.

Coalition Director of Public Policy Jeremy Newman said the number of families who will home-school their children won’t be known for a few weeks, but there is growing interest in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s stubborn refusal to melt away.

“We can say with confidence that a large number of new families are moving to home schooling this fall,” Newman told Houston Daily. “That is clear to us from the overwhelming call and email volume that we've received. In terms of official numbers, until the Texas Education Agency releases enrollment data [measured in October] or the U.S. Census Bureau releases updated survey data, we don't have any hard data on it.”

Coalition President Tim Lambert said it’s obvious families are choosing home schooling as the new school year looms.

“2020 set records for the number of families interested in home schooling. 2021 is now crushing those records,” Lambert said in an Aug. 18 release. “We are literally inundated with calls and emails from thousands upon thousands of families asking how they can begin home schooling this fall. Families know that in home schooling they can find a form of education that is flexible and stable at the same time and it comes with a community of families who are ready to help.”

Newman said the coalition provides parents with information they need to properly instruct their children.

“Legally speaking, they are required to teach a course of study that includes reading, spelling, grammar, math and good citizenship [civics],” he said. “There are many best practices that families can follow beyond that point. A few would [include] to get connected to your local home-school community. There is a lot of support you can find there. Also, realize that you're not copying the public school program/schedule. This won't be eight hours a day of coursework. You don't have 30 children in a class, you have a few. Expect three to four hours of class time per day depending on the age of the students.

“Don't feel the need to have a five- to 10-year plan before you start,” Newman said. “The point of home schooling is to modify your plan as you go to meet the needs of your family and student. Start with six-month to 24-month rough plan and expect to modify it as you go.”

He said this doesn’t have to be a permanent decision. Families have the option to give it a try.

“I think the one thing I would add is that, for any family considering home schooling, I encourage them to try it and just see if it works for them,” Newman said. “They aren't making a lifelong commitment. What many families in the past year discovered is that while they may have started home schooling because of COVID, they are continuing because it is working well for their family.”

In addition to parents, Texas school districts must learn to adapt and adjust, he said.

“They are concerned about their enrollment numbers, which are tied to funding," Newman said. "I think that many people had assumed that everyone would be returning to school this fall, but the level of interest we're receiving indicates that the opposite is happening. So far no serious conversation has taken place about how public education can adapt to meet the diverse needs of Texas families. Instead, the expectation seems to be that families will adapt to meet the needs of public education. As a result, many families are simply leaving.”

The Texas Home School Coalition was founded in 1986. It lists the reasons for its existence on its website.