With students As we return to the classroom, FOX Business is offering a playbook to help parents navigate the challenges facing America's education system.
Throughout this week, FOX Business will take an in-depth look at issues ranging from school choice to the teacher shortage to the costs of pursuing an education, providing tools and solutions to help you build a successful future.
Coverage starts with giving parents more say over where their children go to school, which for advocates means expanding taxpayer-funded voucher programs and education savings accounts to give parents more options, including homeschooling.
But opposition from teachers unions is commonplace, and costs make it hard to accept in conservative districts.
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Still, private and homeschooling have become increasingly popular in the United States in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic forced many public schools to close and switch to distance learning.
A national survey conducted by the Cato Institute earlier this year found that private school enrollment continues to grow from the 2022-23 to 2023-24 school years, albeit at a slower pace than the peak surges that occurred during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.
Rising school costs leave parents in a bind: 'A never-ending nightmare'
According to the survey, nearly half (46%) of private schools reported an increase in enrollment last year over the previous year, with an average of five new students per school, while 30% of private K-12 schools reported no change in enrollment and a quarter (25%) reported a decrease in enrollment.
The number of homeschooled K-12 students in the U.S. has grown by about 2% to 8% annually over the past few years, but saw a larger increase from 2019-2020 to 2020-21, according to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI). As of the 2021-2022 school year, there are approximately 3.1 million homeschooled students in the U.S., according to NHERI.
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The special on American education will air Friday at 8pm ET on FOX Business Network.