Homeschooling continues to gain as an educational option for school-age students in Nebraska.
Statistics from the Nebraska Department of Education show that gains in homeschool students numbers that began with the 2020 coronavirus pandemic have continued to grow.
In 2019, around 9,400 students were homeschooled, then that spiked to more than 14,700 in 2020. The number dipped for a few years through 2023, but rose to nearly 15,000 students in 2024 and now sits at 18,000 this year.
Many parents told Nebraska Public Media News the pandemic was the genesis for the homeschooling trend.
Rachel Tran is a postpartum doula, and she started the Omaha Homeschool Explorers Co-op in 2019. Tran said an increasingly growing number of parents want a customized method of education for their kids, and have learned they do well as teachers.
Tran said, “I wanted to be able to craft my children's education to meet each of them individually.”
Kathryn Dillow runs the Nebraska Homeschool home educators network. The group connects families with homeschool resources and guides them through filing with the state to be able to educate their children at home.
Dillow said some “parents feel like they're being pushed out of (the) setting of having a voice in the education of their child.”
In related news, students in Nebraska public schools began the new year on August 13.
