This summary captures the current thinking on homeschool policy as expressed by a diverse group of homeschool policy stakeholders at a recent convening. Key topics discussed include the purpose of education, the regulation and support of homeschooling, and issues with access to needed resources.

Opting to homeschool children is a growing trend worldwide. However, surprisingly, there is a dearth of research on understanding how digital technologies are used by learners who opt for homeschooling. Thus, in the present study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten homeschoolers in the United States to examine: (1) how digital…

University-based homeschool physical education programs are one way to ensure homeschooled children have access to high-quality, standards-based opportunities to develop their physical literacy. These programs have traditionally been held on site at hosting institutions and were greatly impacted by the limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.…

School choice is spreading across the U.S. at the same time that scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) are stagnant. We examine the association between education freedom and 8th grade student NAEP score levels and gains in states in 2019. We construct the 2019 Education Freedom Index as a composite measure of the…

This paper uses qualitative data from a survey of Higher Education students, who are also parents, to reveal changing attitudes towards, and perceptions of, education during the pandemic school closures in England. Thematic analysis reveals the stresses of 'homeschooling' and how parents reacted and adapted to these, including adjusting ideas…

The confusing variations of terminology that connect "home" with instruction warrant special care in relation to students with disabilities. The underlying core of these varying terms amounts to three distinct placement options in relation to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), here identified as homebound…

Since the start of the new millennium, many states have launched or expanded private school choice options, permitted and expanded independently operated public charter schools, eased restrictions on homeschooling, and enacted policies that allow and encourage various forms of public school choice. One thing that is not on the rise, unfortunately,…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Chinese cross-border students in Hong Kong to participate in online homeschooling for three years while local students attended face-to-face schooling when the situation released. Previous studies have explored the learning challenges or educational inequity among students in online learning during the pandemic.…

In the summer of 2020, it became clear to growing numbers of families and community organizations that COVID-19's unprecedented disruptions to public education would not subside in time for the coming school year. Facing the prospect of continued school closures and uncertain public health safeguards, families were forced to make new childcare…

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has lo//ng reported on public and private school enrollments. But it is only since the late 1990s that NCES has collected information on homeschooling, after the expansion of its National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) to address this topic. The past two decades have also seen growth…

Interest in home-schooling is increasing especially in the era of COVID-19. This pandemic has raised concern among many parents about the future education of their children. Homeschooling is increasingly seen as a safer and more viable option. This paper aims to gauge the potential of home-schooling based on the experiences and perspectives of…

This is the second and final brief on the Cowen Institute's 2022 annual poll of parents' and guardians' perceptions of K-12 public education in New Orleans. The Cowen Institute has conducted these polls since 2007 with the intent of providing insight into how parents, guardians, and the general public view New Orleans' highly decentralized K-12…

As with most areas of society and human life, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed enormous challenges to the early years sector, which caters for about 2.1 million children under the age of 5 years. The economic and public health consequences of the crisis are threatening to deepen existing patterns of vulnerability and under-achievement for young…

Families continue to struggle navigating a fluid K-12 education space since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and emergence of the Delta variant. Over the last 18 months, the parents of 10.8 million did not get what they wanted from their child's school -- representing nearly one in five U.S. schoolchildren. Many families' early concerns over…

Homeschoolers--and their motivations--are increasingly diverse. A number of innovations, such as online schools, microschools, co-ops, and support centers, are enabling this diversity. Though frequently left out of the conversation about education, the homeschooling movement has much to teach us about creating more customized and effective school…