CHANGE: Nearly 2 Million Kids Left Public Schools Between 2020 And 2021
According to enrollment data, nearly 2 million students stopped attending public schools between 2020 and 2021.
In the spring of 2020, 81% of students were enrolled in district-operated schools – that number dropped to 72% by November 2020.
Almost 2 million students stopped attending public schools between 2020 and 2021, enrollment data shows.
In a recent poll from Education Next, district-operated schools lost 4 percent of their students during those two years, with those children enrolling in other types of schooling.
In the spring of 2020, 81 percent of schoolchildren in the United States were enrolled in district schools, according to parental response to the poll.
By November of that year, enrollment in district schools had plummeted to 72 percent, according to Education Next numbers.
Many states also saw a sharp increase in homeschooling during that time.
There was a 63% increase in homeschooling between 2020-2021 — and only fell 17% the next year.
In 18 states that shared data through the current school year, the number of homeschooling students increased by 63% in the 2020-2021 school year, then fell by only 17% in the 2021-2022 school year.
Around 3% of U.S. students were homeschooled before the pandemic-induced surge, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The rising numbers have cut into public school enrollment in ways that affect future funding and renewed debates over how closely homeschooling should be regulated. What remains unknown is whether this year’s small decrease signals a step toward pre-pandemic levels — or a sign that homeschooling is becoming more mainstream.
Are Americans turning away from public schooling?
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