Virginia Homeschooling Hits Record 63,000 Amid National Rise

Homeschooling is experiencing significant growth across several states, highlighted by Virginia's record high of nearly 63,000 homeschool students in the 2024–2025 school year, reflecting a nationwide increase from 3.7 million in 2023 to 4.3 million in 2024. Families choose homeschooling for various reasons including religious beliefs, customized education, accommodating disabilities, and concerns about safety and discrimination in traditional schools. In Virginia, parents like Meaghan Montana have found homeschooling beneficial for children with disabilities, showing notable academic improvements. Meanwhile, in Maryland, parents and advocacy groups are actively opposing potential new regulations such as mandatory credentials for parents, standardized testing, and curriculum mandates, fearing these would complicate homeschooling. Connecticut lawmakers recently engaged with homeschool families amid debates on regulation reforms, with many parents asserting their constitutional right to educate their children without additional government interference and rejecting the conflation of homeschooling with abuse cases. Overall, the homeschooling movement is marked by diverse motivations and ongoing policy discussions as states consider how to regulate this growing educational choice.