In March 2023 Florida passed one of America's most expansive school-choice programmes, providing $8,000 state vouchers to families regardless of income. The number of homeschooled pupils jumped by 47% in five years, to 155,000 by a conservative estimate.
The typical Florida homeschooler is no longer a mother teaching at the kitchen table alone. Parents act as general contractors, selecting schooling from a wide range of suppliers and shuttling children between lessons and extra-curricular classes. An ecosystem of "microschools" and "co-ops" offers unbundled classes on everything from algebra and forestry to karate. Private schools now offer "homeschooling days" where pupils come in one day a week; public schools allow families to enroll in individual courses or play on the football team.
In Hillsborough County, where Tampa sits, at least one in every 15 children is homeschooled—more than anywhere else in the state. In a single year the county's public schools lost 7,000 pupils to "deschooling" and other alternatives.
Education researchers worry the rules are too lax. On Facebook groups, parents trade tips on getting Netflix subscriptions, Disney World passes and home-gym equipment reimbursed as "educational materials". Most states (but not Florida) require homeschoolers to teach core subjects such as maths, reading and history, but in practice they do not enforce it. Homeschoolers' exam results are rarely published. "I don't see why we should be using public funds to pay for an education that lacks real quality control," says Jon Valant of the Brookings Institution. Nearly half the country's pupils are below grade level.
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