Homeschooling and School Choice

Public school enrollment has fallen sharply in several large U.S. districts and states — Colorado lost about 10,000 students this year as homeschooling rises statewide, Houston ISD lost roughly 8,300 students this year (more than 16,000 over two years and about 15,000 immediately after COVID) and now enrolls about 184,109, Chicago Public Schools is down nearly 22% since 2011–12, New York City’s traditional public schools have lost more than 117,000 students since 2019–20, and Washington state’s public‑school population is about 50,000 lower than in 2019–20. Officials and analysts point to growing charter, private, virtual and homeschooling options — and policies such as Texas’s new $1 billion universal ESA program — as intensifying competition, prompting districts to cut budgets or add programs to try to lure families back amid concerns about academic proficiency.