The number of US children being homeschooled has doubled since the start of the pandemic from roughly 2.5 to five million, representing 11 percent of households nationwide that are now homeschooling their children.
The reasons are varied, researchers say, but overall the shift represents a loss of faith in America's public schools systems amid the challenges presented during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by Bellwether Education Partners.
Black families represented the largest group moving to homeschooling, with 16 percent of households now teaching at home – up from 3.3 percent in spring 2020.
This compares to 12.1 percent of Hispanic families now homeschooling – up from 6.2 percent before the pandemic; and 9.7 percent of white families now homeschooling, up from 5.7 percent last year.
Around 8.8 percent of Asian families are homeschooling, up from 4.9 percent in Spring 2020.
Among families of other races, 11.6 percent are now homeschooled, compared to 6.2 percent before the pandemic.
It comes as an unprecedented number of parents have been able to see how their children are being educated up close amid remote learning.
Many are finding they want more individualized learning options, Alex Spurrier, one of the authors of the Bellwether study told Axios.
For families of color, motivations include protecting their children from racism in public schools, as well as lower expectations placed on them, which can have a negative impact on performance, according to the National Home Education Research Institute. About 41 percent of homeschool families are non-white, the institute reported.