The Pandemic's Effect on Demand for Public Schools, Homeschooling, and Private Schools
The COVID-19 pandemic drastically disrupted the functioning of U.S. public schools, potentially changing the relative appeal of alternatives such as homeschooling and private schools. Using student-level administrative data from Michigan and nationally representative data from the Census Household Pulse Survey, the authors show how the pandemic affected families’ choices of school sector. Through this analysis, the Pandemic’s Effect on Demand for Public Schools, Homeschooling, and Private Schools adds to a growing base of research around the impact of COVID-19 and student enrollment patterns. This includes the first analysis of how remote or in-person learning relates to parents choosing homeschooling or private schools, as well as the first evidence on national variation in homeschooling choice by household income and age. Together, the findings shed light on how families make schooling decisions and may imply potential longer-run disruptions to public schools.
