More parents are choosing home schooling over in-class instruction this fall as districts roll out their reopening plans during the global health crisis.

Some worry their districts will be unable to offer a strong virtual learning program. For others, concerns for their family’s health amid the coronavirus and the on-again, off-again planning for in-person instruction are leading them to part ways with school systems.

A recent poll from the American Federation of Children shows 40 percent of respondents are more likely to pursue home schooling after coronavirus lockdowns.

Parents are frustrated with school reopening plans and now they’re looking for other options, according to J. Allen Weston, the executive director for the National Home School Association based in suburban Denver.

There were about 2.5 million homeschool students last year in grades K-12 in the United States, making up about 3 percent to 4 percent of school-age children, according to the National Home Educators Research Institute. Brian Ray, the group’s president, is anticipating that their numbers will increase by at least 10 percent.

Chris Perrin, CEO of Camp Hill, Pa.-based Classical Academic Press, said curriculum sales to home schoolers are up by 50 percent and that enrollment in its online academy has increased by 100 percent amid the pandemic.

Interest in home schooling materials also has been surging, driven in part by parents who are keeping their children enrolled in schools but looking for ways to supplement distance learning.

The National Home School Association received more than 3,400 requests for information on a single day last month, up from between five and 20 inquiries per day before the coronavirus. The group had to increase the size of its email inbox to keep up.

“Clearly the interest we have been getting has exploded,” said Weston. “That is really the only way to describe it.”

By home schooling, parents have the discretion to tailor the curriculum and their children’s schooling schedule. Home schooling also creates a stronger parent/child bond and can shelter children from school violence, drugs, and other negative behaviors children in public schools frequently encounter.

But critics point out that home schooling impedes a child’s social development and professional educators, not parents, should structure a student’s curriculum.

We’ve seen how reopening too soon in some sectors has sparked an increase in coronavirus cases.

It’s a tough decision for parents, but some might feel sending their children back into the classroom is not worth the health risks.

— JGG