The number of students being homeschooled in Florida jumped by almost 50 percent over the past five years.
Data from the Florida Department of Education shows that more than 155,000 students were homeschooled during the 2023-24 school year—a 46 percent increase since 2019-2020.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been a prominent advocate for homeschooling in his state. Earlier this year, he signed a bill authorizing home educated students to participate in interscholastic athletic teams at any public school within their school district. In 2023, the state passed a school choice bill that created a program that provides families with funds to pay for education to use for expenses such as homeschooling, private school tuition, tutoring and textbooks.
Homeschooling in Florida
Florida has experienced a dramatic rise in homeschooling over the past decade, with the number of students opting out of traditional classrooms more than doubling since 2013. According to state data, 155,532 students were homeschooled during the 2023-24 school year—up from 77,054 in 2013-14.
GETTY
While homeschooling in Florida had already been on a steady incline, the most dramatic increase came during the 2020-21 academic year. That year, the Sunshine State recorded a 35.2 percent surge, adding more than 37,000 students to the homeschool population.
Growth has slowed but remained steady since then. Homeschooling increased by 6.1 percent in 2021-22, followed by smaller gains of 1.4 percent in 2022-23 and 0.8 percent in 2023-24.
According to the data, Hillsborough County has the highest number of homeschooled students in Florida with 10,514 students, representing 6.8 percent of the state’s total. Duval County follows closely with 10,439 students, and Orange County reports 9,497 homeschooled students.
Anastasios Kamoutsas, Florida’s education commissioner, said the increasing number of homeschooled students reflected the “hard work” of parents and “the policies championed by Governor Ron DeSantis.”
“There is no other state that has afforded the kind of parental choice in education that we have provided in the Free State of Florida,” he wrote in an August 5 letter to homeschool families posted on X. “No other state has provided parents with the ability to chart the path for their children that best meets their needs. No other state has more students on a school choice scholarship.”
Why Do Some Parents Homeschool?
According to findings from the Pew Research Center based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics for the 2022-23 academic year, parents of homeschooled children cited a wide range of reasons for choosing home education.
The most commonly reported concern was the school environment, including issues related to safety, drugs or negative peer pressure, which 83 percent of parents cited. Another major factor was dissatisfaction with the quality of academic instruction at other schools, mentioned by 72 percent of parents.
A strong preference for personal values also drove homeschooling decisions. About 75 percent of parents said they homeschooled to provide moral instruction, while 72 percent cited a desire to “emphasize family life.” Religious reasons were also a factor for many, with 53 percent of parents saying they homeschooled to provide religious instruction.
Some parents homeschooled for health or needs-based reasons. About 21 percent cited unmet special needs as a reason for pulling their kids out of traditional education, and 15 percent said their child had a long-term physical or mental health condition.
About the Author
