It's that time of year again when millions of public school students head back to the

classroom.

But an increasing number of students are getting their education somewhere else, home.

The pandemic forced many families into homeschooling and a surprising number of them are sticking

with it.

Home school enrollment rose by 30 percent between fall of 2019 and fall of 2021.

It's according to research from Stanford University and the Urban Institute.

In Pennsylvania, homeschooling rose by 53 percent and in New York it rose by 65 percent.

The most dramatic shift in homeschool enrollment during the pandemic was among black families.

According to a 2020 Census household survey, homeschooling among black families in the

fall of 2020 was five times higher than it was in the spring of 2020.

More than three years since the beginning of the pandemic, why are more parents opting

to homeschool their kids for good and with a rise of micro schools, co-ops and other types

of homeschool options, where does regulation come in?

We take our questions to our panel and take a closer look at homeschooling after the

break.

I'm Jen White.

You're listening to the 1A podcast where we get to the heart of the story.

Stay with us.

We've got a lot to get into.

Let's get into it.

Joining us for the conversation is Laura Mechler.

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