Many parents who are homeschooling out of necessity during the pandemic are finding that they actually prefer it.
Forty percent of families surveyed are more likely to homeschool or virtual school after lockdowns, according to a Real Clear Politics survey, In addition, 64 percent support school choice and 69 percent support the federal Education Freedom Scholarships proposal. More than 2,000 registered voters participated in the survey.
“Every single family with kids in school has been incredibly disrupted by the lockdowns,” said John Schilling, President of the American Federation of Children. “With 55 million students no longer in their normal educational setting, families are clearly considering new options and many are seeing the benefits of homeschooling and virtual schooling.
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“Policymakers should note that there is a strong desire to have these and other educational options available to families, with both strong support for the general concept of school choice and even stronger support for a specific federal proposal, Education Freedom Scholarships.”
A total of 40.8 percent of new homeschooling parents said they are more likely, while 31.1 percent said they are less likely. A majority of Asians (53.8 percent) and blacks (50.4 percent) said they are more likely to homeschool, while more than a third of Hispanic parents (38.2 percent) and whites (36.3 percent) also answered “more likely.”
“This is the time for leadership and for desperately needed bold reforms to be implemented across our K-12 education system,” Schilling said. “Millions of families are seeing the inadequacies of school districts that are too inflexible. We owe it to our nation’s families and students to give them more flexibility and additional educational options. Moreover, policymakers owe it to the taxpayers who are footing the $800 billion K-12 education bill to maximize their investment by ensuring every child has access to a quality education and outcomes are improved across the board.”
The American Federation for Children, according to its mission statement, seeks “to empower families, especially lower-income families, with the freedom to choose the best K-12 education for their children.”
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice