Analysts: Stop ‘myths, scaremongering tactics’ against burgeoning homeschool movement

Imagine a movement “so fringe” it can’t reflect mainstream society, yet so “fast ballooning and politically forceful” it may overrun an entire educational system – how homeschooling is described by its critics, several analysts conclude.

“Homeschooling’s foes continue to rely on myths and scaremongering tactics to deride a movement that is dynamic, diverse, and deserved,” write Angela R. Watson and Matthew H. Lee in a commentary for Education Next.

“As another academic year begins, we again find ourselves beset by a familiar set of actors wielding the well-worn tropes about who homeschools and why it is wrong.” 

Watson directs Johns Hopkins University’s Homeschool Research Lab, while Lee directs Kennesaw State University’s Education Choice Research Lab. 

Their commentary addresses three common arguments against homeschooling: that it deprives children of alternative viewpoints, stays within specific demographics and contributes to neglect or abuse. 

‘Sector switching’ shows range of educational options 

Homeschooling critics such as Elizabeth Bartholet from Harvard Law School often accuse its practitioners of conforming to dangerous ideologies outside the U.S. cultural majority. 

“(Bartholet) criticizes homeschooling as a way for backwards parents to teach their children ‘racism and fascism,’ deprive their children ‘of any understanding of the views and values of the larger society,’ and subject their children ‘to abuse and neglect,’” the commentary notes. “We’ve heard – and rebutted – this tune before.” 

Furthermore, recent data concludes most homeschool graduates weren’t exclusively homeschooled, according to Watson and Lee. 

“One element of the dynamism of modern homeschooling is the extent to which these families engage in ‘sector switching.’ New research from Johns Hopkins University reveals that 80-90 percent of adults who were ever homeschooled used another sector, including traditional public schools, at some point in their education. … This means most homeschooled adults were predominantly educated in more conventional environments.” 

The report also cited “sector mixing,” which means homeschool parents often choose different educational options for all their children. 

“Twenty-six percent of households homeschooling at least one child have another child enrolled in a different sector,” Watson and Lee note. “This statistic puts homeschooling families more in line with public charter school families and conventional private school families, who also mix education sectors for their kids.” 

Altogether, this willingness to diversify stands in marked contrast against “the overwhelming majority of traditional public school families” or 92% of parents who exclusively choose public education alone.  

“Despite false stereotypes, homeschoolers are not a separate category of people; they are public schoolers, charter schoolers, and private schoolers, just like the larger society,” the commentary concludes. 

“Even among those exclusively homeschooling, families are availing themselves of an array of practices and opportunities, adapting to the learning needs of each child as new resources become available. For example, The Washington Post recently highlighted the prevalence of supports such as microschools, co-ops, and online courses used by homeschooling families.” 

Spanning ethnic, geographical, income demographics 

Watson and Lee also take issue with the “fallacy” of homeschooling as “the exclusive domain of conservative Christians,” which media outlets such as the New York Times often reflect. 

“Families that homeschool reflect the broader population in demographic characteristics as well as religious and political points of view,” they conclude, noting the rise in Black and Hispanic families choosing this educational option. 

“(Homeschoolers) represent a wide range of household incomes and, in this regard, most resemble public school families. For example, more than a quarter reported an annual household income of less than $50,000. Similarly, homeschooling is geographically diverse, with recent growth observed from coast to coast, in red states and blue states.” 

One example of a reluctant public-schooler-turned-homeschooler includes Nicole P. Doyle, who co-founded the Georgia Black Home Educators Network. 

“My son was in (public) school, and the teacher actually suggested to me, ‘Say, you ever thought about homeschooling? Because you’re spending so much time here,’” she said. “I was so apprehensive about homeschooling, and she looked at me and was like, ‘I’m pretty sure once you’ve started this, then you’re not coming back.’ And I was looking at her like, ‘I will be back.’ And she’s like, ‘No, you won’t.’” 

Doyle struggled at first to find her footing as a homeschooler until she was introduced to a diverse, multigenerational homeschool cooperative. 

“I didn’t recognize that I had a community that was going to jump into all aspects of my homeschooling journey,” she explained. 

“It’s a more intense and beautiful journey when you are being intentional about everything, including education.” 

Protecting children against abuse, neglect  

Finally, Watson and Lee tackle the argument that homeschooling contributes to parental neglect or even abuse. 

“According to Bartholet, ‘Many [children] are being subjected to abuse and neglect, since homeschooling parents are free to raise them in the kind of isolation that enables and indeed breeds maltreatment,’” they write. “Her logic implies that parents are naturally disposed towards maltreatment and that mandated reporters are more inclined toward the care and nurture of children.” 

However, the sector switching and mixing shows families often turn to homeschooling to address current abuse and neglect of children taking place within public schools, the commentary concludes. 

“We all want children to be safe,” Watson and Lee explain. “But those who believe that schools are the safest places for children likely don’t have school-age children. The vast majority of parents – and especially Black and Brown parents – have realistic concerns about safety in brick-and-mortar schools.” 

For example, 83% of respondents from the 2023 Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey cited concerns over the environment of other schools as an important reason to homeschool. 

Of those, 28% called it “the most important reason,” the commentary noted. “Parents choose homeschooling not to isolate and neglect their children but because they are concerned that the available schools are unsafe.” 

In one example, a Cuban mom decided to homeschool after her special-needs daughter was physically attacked by one of her Nebraska public-school classmates. “Our whole experience with the public school was horrible,” says the mother, identified as Adianez. “I trusted them with my child, and she came home injured and traumatized.” 

Such cases of bullying are estimated to increase in the future. In 2019, the PACER National Bullying Prevention Center found one out of every five public-school students had reported being bullied. 

Furthermore, available research suggests homeschool students experience less abuse and neglect than their public-school peers, according to the National Home Education Research Institute. 

“The balance of research to date suggests that homeschool students may suffer less harm (e.g., abuse, neglect, fatalities) than conventional school students,” its website notes, linking to a March 2022 summary of extant studies. 

Ultimately, homeschool critics need to stop “exaggerated and fallacious claims” in favor of “facts and productive policy solutions” to their concerns, Watson and Lee argue. 

“Families who homeschool are not a monolith; they are diverse with equally diverse motivations. … [F]or the past half-century, homeschooling has been legally defensible and lawfully deserved in the United States.”