San Antonio Standard

Texas parents are giving more consideration to alternative schooling methods than in years past. The U.S. Census Bureau recently found that home schooling has grown significantly throughout the past year, with the rate of Texas school-age children being home-schooled at 12.3% in fall 2020 compared to 4.5% before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

There has been a steady rise for decades. According to a report from Education Daily Wire, withdrawals from the state's public schools in preference of home schooling has risen by nearly 230% since 1997. The Texan reported that nearly 23,000 students left the public schools system to be home-schooled in the 2018-2019 academic year, with tens of thousands more projected to follow suit. 

San Antonio's public schools stand out in the trends. In the district represented by GOP state Rep. Steve Allison, a member of the House Public Education Committee, home school rates for grades seven through 12 increased 169% from 1997 to 2019, according to the Texas Education Agency. That averages to almost 5% of the student body leaving the public school system behind each year. 

Ione McGinty, a home school parent, told the San Antonio Standard that the trends have been apparent over the last few years. 

"I've noticed a huge explosion," she said, noting that her San Antonio home school group on Facebook has over doubled membership recently. "Especially with the the changes in the schools, people unhappy with the local school district, turning to home schooling—unhappy with the rules, the regulations at school and the lack of common education," she said. "People are turning to home schooling."

Allison did not respond to requests for comment on the home school trends in his district.