North Carolina’s public schools changing policies to embrace homeschoolers, analysts say

As homeschooling has grown in North Carolina over the years, schools have been changing their policies to accommodate them, a recent study suggests.

“The last time EdNC did an analysis on the board policies of North Carolina’s school districts in 2016, the numbers were quite different,” writes Ben Humphries for the news nonprofit Education NC (EdNC).

“This analysis splits homeschooling policies into four categories: participation in extracurricular activities, part-time/dual enrollment, entering student placement, and the awarding of credit.”

In all these categories, public-school policies now tend to grant homeschoolers more access than before. For example, 75 of the state’s 115 school districts – about 65% – explicitly allow dual enrollment today, compared to only 13 districts in 2016.

Ease of participation has also grown in sports programs and extracurricular activities such as JROTC, Humphries noted.

“The number of districts accepting homeschooled students into sports programs and allowing them to enroll part-time could be a signal they are embracing homeschoolers; as homeschooling numbers rise, it may become even more common for school boards to open their policy manuals to them.” 

Homeschooling now ‘mainstay of American educational system’ 

North Carolina law requires homeschoolers to register with its Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) when starting, which allows officials to track registered households. 

This number increased in 2023-24 to 96,529 – up from 94,154 the previous school year, according to EdNC. 

“At its peak during the 2020-21 school year, the number of registered home schools was 112,614,” Humphries explains, adding the COVID-19 pandemic drove a temporary surge in homeschooling numbers. 

An estimated 179,900 students homeschool in North Carolina – about 13% of the 1,358,000 students enrolled in public schools statewide. 

Meanwhile, public-school enrollment has been declining in the Tar Heel State. From 2008 to 2023, the number of students in public education dropped by 10%. 

Media outlets such as the Washington Post acknowledge part of the decline in public-school enrollment stems from more parents choosing to homeschool. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, homeschooling has become a “mainstay of the American educational system, with its impact – on society, on public schools and, above all, on hundreds of thousands of children now learning outside a conventional academic setting – only beginning to be felt.” 

However, North Carolina public schools seem to have adapted to this trend by allowing more homeschoolers access to their services. 

“Many decisions are left up to school boards when it comes to homeschooling,” Humphries explains. “The state doesn’t dictate whether public schools must allow homeschooled students to enroll part-time, for example. … Instead of being governed by state law, school district policies on part-time enrollment, extracurricular participation, student placement, and the awarding of credit are contained within their local school board’s policy manuals.” 

While each school district policy is unique, boards tend to use “prefab clauses” from the North Carolina School Boards Association’s reference manual, which is updated regularly. 

“A lot of local boards use that as a base for their manual,” said Christine Scheef, the association’s legal counsel and director of policy. “So that is why you will sometimes see language that seems identical.” 

With the continuing increase in registered families, “homeschooling is still a popular alternative to public and private schools in North Carolina,” Humphries concludes.