A small fraction of California students do not attend school at all, in a conventional sense.

“Homeschooled” children participate in an educational program that is coordinated by their parents. Like anything that involves a small fraction of children, when you multiply that fraction by the population of California you end up with a big number.

Because school attendance is compulsory, families must meet some requirements to legally pull their children out of school. The Homeschooling Association of California advises families about how to establish their own private school or how to affiliate with a Private Satellite Program (PSP).

Homeschool was for
religious kids
but now it's a way
to learn from vids

Religious concerns play heavily in some families' desire to separate from public schools. Until recently, religious concerns dominated the demand for home schooling. In a 2011-12 survey, 16% of parents of homeschooled children cited religion as their top reason for choosing to teach their child at home.

But the internet has made it significantly easier for families to learn about home schooling options, and "homeschooling" is a growing movement. Computer-based instruction and online resources are making learning at home an increasingly realistic option for more families and into higher grades.

The top reason parents cite for choosing homeschooling is "a concern about the environment" of other schools.

The US Department of Education estimates that nationwide homeschooling has grown rapidly to about 3.4% of students. The Department of Education survey suggests that homeschoolers are students for whom traditional school is not working for a variety of reasons, including commute distances, bullying, or other safety concerns. The number one reason that parents cite for choosing homeschooling is "a concern about the environment" of other schools.

A rapidly increasing number of these new homeschool students are enrolling in “virtual schools” that make heavy use of computing and telecommunication. There are some reasons to worry about the appropriateness of this approach to home schooling for students who are far behind. In 2013 the largest virtual school operator, K-12, a for-profit company using charter school laws, came under intense criticism. California outlawed some activities of for profit management companies in 2018, in large part because of financial and academic performance issues.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. The role of computers in learning is a far larger topic than home-based learning. The technology angle of this topic will be explored further in Lesson 6.6, in the section “the Right Stuff.”

The next lesson steps away from anything remotely "virtual." What does it take to hold a class together, in terms of discipline?

Updated July 2017, December 2018