Nebraska homeschool growth continues as families ‘want more’ from educational system 

After working 30 years as a public-school teacher and administrator, LeDonna Griffin now runs a homeschool co-op for families in Nebraska – called Leaders to Legends. 

One of the co-op’s most remarkable achievements includes 100% of students able to read, Griffin told the local ABC affiliate. 

“That is big for us, because I had students who came to me as old as 7 or 8 years old and were non-readers,” said Griffin, who has a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska in educational administration and supervision. “And parents weren’t too happy about that.” 

This dissatisfaction with public schools has translated into a higher influx of Cornhusker State students registering into “exempt” schools, which includes homeschooling. 

More than 16,000 students were registered as exempt in the 2024-25 academic year, marking a substantial increase from the numbers before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We have people who are moving towards something. They know what is available in their current school setting. They might be okay with it, happy with it, but at the same time, they want more. They see an opportunity,” said Kathryn Dillow, executive director of Nebraska Homeschool. 

“The majority of people, however, are moving away from something when they leave a different school setting and come into homeschooling. They’re unhappy with the academics in that, I mean, what is being taught or how it is being taught.” 

‘The baseline was reset at a higher level’ 

Exempt numbers skyrocketed from 9,452 students in the 2019-20 academic year to 14,714 students in the 2020-21 academic year, according to the Nebraska Department of Education.

While many educational analysts expected attendance to return to pre-pandemic levels, the numbers have stayed higher each year since 2020.

“It never did return to the same baseline,” Dillow observed. “The baseline was reset at a higher level, so instead we saw about a 2% jump.”

Dillow cited multiple factors influencing the exodus from public schools, including an inability to meet the needs of students in special education.

“There’s also been an increase of people who have children with learning challenges, who have IEPs and 504s, who feel that it’s not working, or that 504 is not being honored by the existing system that they’re in,” she said. 

Other reasons involve health issues, school-related stress and anxiety, and bullying, according to Dillow. 

“I think the majority of our folks that reach out to us are moving away from a different school setting because they need something that works better.” 

In contrast, homeschooling provides parents with freedom and flexibility to choose learning options best suited to their children’s specific situations. 

“It molds around the family, rather than family having to mold around a schedule of a school environment,” Dillow said. 

“We do have full-fledged brick and mortar places that have teachers, administration, enrollment, and tuition that are exempt schools. You will find a variety of learning centers, microschools that have been started – especially since COVID – or even co-ops.”