This is Part 1 in our series, “10 Good Reasons to Homeschool Your Child.”
When most people think about reasons to homeschool, they often imagine families seeking religious instruction or alternative educational philosophies. But for a growing number of American families, the decision to homeschool stems from a more urgent concern: keeping their children safe.
School safety has emerged as the #1 reason parents choose homeschooling in 2025, fundamentally reshaping the homeschool landscape. According to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a striking 83% of homeschooling parents now cite concerns about the school environment as a primary reason for their choice, including safety, drugs, and negative peer pressure.
This represents a dramatic shift from just 2 decades ago, when religious instruction dominated as the primary motivator. Today, physical and emotional safety concerns have taken the lead, driving what Johns Hopkins researchers describe as “nearly triple” the pre-pandemic homeschooling growth rate.
The New Reality: Safety First
The statistics paint a clear picture of this transformation:
Primary Motivations for Homeschooling (NCES 2023):
- 83% cite school environment concerns (safety, drugs, negative peer pressure)
- 25-34% identify safety as their single most important reason
- This now outranks both academic dissatisfaction (72%) and religious instruction (53%)
For context, in the early 2000s, religious instruction was the dominant reason families chose to homeschool. Today’s families are making a different calculation entirely, one centered on protection rather than philosophy.
The Numbers Tell the Story
The homeschooling population has nearly doubled in just 5 years, and safety concerns are sustaining this growth even after pandemic-related school closures ended:
Homeschooling Growth (2019 vs. 2024-2025):
According to data from the NCES, Johns Hopkins Homeschool Research Lab, and the U.S. Census Bureau:
- Pre-pandemic (2019): ~2.5 million students (~3.4% of K-12 population)
- Current (2024-2025): ~3.7 million students (~6.7% of K-12 population)
- Growth rate: From 2% per year pre-pandemic to 5.4% average annually
This represents roughly triple the pre-pandemic growth rates. Several states have seen record-high enrollment increases in the 2024-2025 school year, including South Carolina (21.5% growth) and Vermont (17% growth).
What’s Driving Parents’ Safety Concerns?
School Violence and Shootings
High-profile incidents of school violence create immediate spikes in homeschooling inquiries. While school shootings remain statistically rare, the psychological impact on families is profound. Parents are no longer willing to calculate the odds when their child’s physical safety is at stake.
Research from the U.S. Secret Service on school violence reveals a troubling pattern: most school attackers were victims of bullying, and over half experienced persistent patterns of being bullied. This connection between bullying and violence has led many parents to proactively remove their children from environments where these dynamics are not effectively managed.
Bullying: The Everyday Threat
While shootings capture headlines, bullying represents a more pervasive daily concern for parents. NCES data tracking “Fear and Avoidance” shows that roughly 5-7% of all U.S. students, even those still in traditional schools, report skipping school or avoiding certain areas like hallways or cafeterias due to safety fears.
For many families, this chronic anxiety becomes unsustainable. When a child dreads going to school each day, when parents receive reports of ongoing harassment, or when school administrators seem unable or unwilling to intervene effectively, homeschooling emerges as the “exit option.”
The Broader Environment Concerns
Safety concerns extend beyond physical violence. Parents cite:
- Drug exposure and peer pressure around substance use
- Negative social dynamics and toxic peer relationships
- Mental health impacts from constant social stress
- Inability to protect children from harmful influences during school hours
These are not isolated anxieties; they represent the mainstream homeschool experience. The vast majority of families point to these environment concerns as central to their decision, with 1 in 4 identifying them as the single factor that tipped the scales toward homeschooling.
Taking Control: The Homeschool Solution
For families who choose to homeschool for safety, the decision represents taking back control over their child’s daily environment. Instead of hoping school administrators will address problems effectively, parents can:
Create a physically safe learning space free from violence, threats, or the anxiety of “what if” scenarios that plague many students in traditional schools.
Manage social relationships by choosing when, where, and with whom their children interact, rather than forcing daily exposure to peer groups that may include bullies, manipulators, or negative influences.
Respond immediately to concerns rather than navigating bureaucratic school systems that may be slow to act or dismissive of parental worries.
Prioritize mental health by eliminating the chronic stress many students experience in institutional school settings, allowing children to learn in an emotionally safe environment.
Is This Just Parental Anxiety?
Some critics dismiss safety-focused homeschooling as parental overreaction. But the data suggests otherwise. According to Johns Hopkins Homeschool Research Lab’s 2024-2025 growth report, the sustained increase in homeschooling, even after schools fully reopened post-pandemic, indicates this is not about temporary fear but about fundamental concerns regarding the school environment.
Pew Research Center’s 2025 analysis confirms that school environment concerns, particularly safety, represent a rational response to documented problems within traditional school systems. Notably, when the federal government’s own data shows that millions of students avoid parts of their school due to fear, parents’ decision to homeschool becomes less about anxiety and more about acknowledging reality.
The Shift in Homeschooling Demographics
This safety-first motivation has also diversified who chooses to homeschool. No longer dominated by religious families or specific demographic groups, today’s homeschooling families span:
- Urban, suburban, and rural areas
- All income levels
- Diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds (41% of homeschool families are non-white/non-Hispanic)
- Secular and religious households alike
What unites them is not ideology but rather the shared priority of protecting their children’s physical and emotional wellbeing during the school years.
Looking Ahead
As school safety continues to dominate headlines and parental concerns, experts predict homeschooling will continue its upward trajectory. The question for many families is no longer “Why would you homeschool?” but rather “How can we afford NOT to homeschool when safety is at stake?”
For parents weighing this decision, safety represents just one of many reasons to homeschool. In the coming parts of this series, we will explore additional motivations -from personalized learning to family bonding – that make homeschooling an increasingly attractive option for American families.
But for the growing number of families who cite safety as their primary concern, homeschooling offers something irreplaceable: peace of mind that their children are learning in an environment where protection comes first.
