For years, some officials in Oklahoma’s homeschool community have opposed school-choice legislation that allows tax dollars to support parents’ efforts to educate their children in a venue other than the local public school.

The argument they put forth is that government regulation of homeschooling is likely to increase as parents access school-choice programs, even for homeschool families who do not use a school-choice program.

But that theory has never been empirically tested. Officials with the Texas Home School Coalition decided to change that. The results of that study indicate that the fears of homeschool advocates have been overblown.

“We find that there is no evidence of any increase in homeschool regulation despite a history of adjacent policy changes,” wrote Angela R. Watson of the Johns Hopkins Homeschool Research Lab and Jeremy Newman of the Texas Home School Coalition. “Increasing access does not appear to have negatively impacted homeschool regulation. The growth of school choice and the rise of ESAs (Education Savings Accounts) also does not appear to have negatively impacted homeschool regulation. In fact, homeschool regulation has decreased rather than increased over time.”

In their study, “Homeschool Regulatory Changes: Do Adjacent Policy Changes Matter?”, Watson and Newman examined decades of data related to policies that allow homeschool students to use public-school resources (such as accessing sports programs) and school-choice programs that allow parents to use their tax dollars to access private school or support homeschooling.

In 1990, the report noted, there were only two states that allowed homeschool students to access public school programs, such as sports. By 2024, there were 38 states with laws allowing access.

Similarly, in 1990 there were only five programs nationwide that allowed the use of tax dollars to support the private-school education of any students (with those programs limited to certain populations). By 2024, there were 75 such programs nationwide, including several states that now have “universal” school-choice programs open to all citizens, including in Oklahoma.

The study noted that homeschool advocates have not only opposed school-choice programs allowing access to private schools based on concerns about regulatory creep, but also raised similar concerns about policies allowing homeschooled students to access courses, electives, extracurriculars, and/or sports at their local public schools.

However, even though many states today allow homeschoolers to access sports and other programs at local public schools, the report found there has been no corresponding increase in regulations requiring families to notify state officials of their intent to homeschool.

“As both access and private school choice have increased,” the report noted, “homeschool regulation has decreased.”

Similarly, while some states require homeschool students to take state tests, researchers found that no states have added a new testing requirement during the period reviewed when school-choice programs were increasing in number, and three states even “repealed preexisting testing requirements.”

“These findings show a trend toward deregulation when it comes to state requirements to test or otherwise assess homeschooled students,” the report noted.

Similarly, there has been a slight decline in the number of states that require homeschooling parents to meet education requirements. Nebraska repealed its law on parental education requirements.

“No evidence was found of homeschool regulation increases on any measures,” the report stated.

Homeschool regulation could increase—where there is little school choice

Notably, the most prominent example of a state pursuing significant new regulation of homeschooling is now underway in Democratic-dominated Illinois, which has no major school-choice policies.

Illinois has only very limited forms of school choice, such as limited open transfer between public-school districts, public charter schools, homeschooling, and one program that allows parents of children in private school to claim a tax credit for educational expenses. (That tax credit averages just $322 apiece and was first enacted in 1999.)

Despite the near-absence of private-school choice programs in Illinois, officials there are now seeking to impose major regulations on homeschool families—in part because homeschooling has become increasingly popular.

Illinois House Bill 2827 states that “homeschooling is currently the fastest growing form of education in the United States” and claims regulation is needed to “adequately protect homeschooled children in situations when notification of the type of schooling of the child would help reduce vulnerabilities to abuse and neglect.”

In a post on X, Jason Bedrick, research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, pointed out, “Note that this is in a state that lacks a school choice policy. School choice policies help build the constituency necessary to protect homeschoolers and private schools from government overreach.”

The proposed Illinois homeschooling regulations have drawn strong criticism.

In an editorial, The Wall Street Journal noted “there is no evidence of a connection between home-schooling and abuse or neglect, and it’s unclear what purpose the new law advances other than piling on onerous and costly regulation that will result in less home-schooling.”

The editorial also pointed out, “In 2023 there were 446 allegations of sexual misconduct or abuse in Chicago Public Schools.”

In addition, a 2023 report found that there were 30 schools in Illinois where no student could read at grade level and 53 schools where no students were able to do math at grade level.

The bill prompted more than 60,000 Illinois citizens to file witness slips in opposition to the bill, compared to about 1,000 in support, as of March 18.

Illinois Democrats’ attack on homeschoolers did not go unnoticed in Oklahoma.

On March 19, Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote, “This would never fly in Oklahoma. School choice is the law of the land here because we believe parents know what’s best for their kids, period.”

Disconnect between homeschoolers and homeschool leaders

Even as Illinois undermines the theory that increased regulation of homeschooling is tied to school choice, and despite academic research showing that school-choice expansion has actually had a slight correlation with reduced homeschooling regulation, some Oklahoma homeschool officials remain unfazed.

Officials with Homeschool Oklahoma continue to insist that “history shows that accepting government money leads to increased oversight.”

In February, officials with Homeschool Oklahoma criticized the Texas study, saying its focus on three main types of homeschool regulation—notice of intent to homeschool, testing requirements, and parental qualifications—was too narrow, and argued other forms of regulation could be imposed.

Homeschool Oklahoma officials also argued that the study’s focus on changes to homeschooling law was too narrow since agency regulations can also impact homeschoolers. (However, in Oklahoma, agency rules must be based on existing state laws and can only impose mandates authorized in state law.)

The group also dismissed the Texas report’s focus on access programs that allow homeschool students to participate in extracurricular programs at public schools, claiming those laws “aren’t relevant to a discussion” of whether Oklahoma’s school-choice tax credit will lead to greater homeschooling regulation.

However, access programs allow homeschool students to benefit from taxpayer funding, similar to private-school choice programs.

But homeschool leaders in Texas are taking a different approach.

Members of the Texas Home School Coalition are supporting passage of Education Savings Account (ESA) legislation in Texas, provided it includes protection against regulation of homeschoolers who do not participate in the ESA program and strong protections against government intrusion for homeschooling families who do participate,

“At THSC, we believe parents are the best decision-makers for their children’s education,” the group stated on its website. “We’re committed to ensuring any school choice legislation in Texas prioritizes this foundational principle. Whether or not families choose to participate in school choice programs, their freedom to homeschool without interference must remain intact.”

The Texas Home School Coalition’s support for school choice is significantly tied to the findings of its research.

“THSC conducted a 50-state bonafide research project to assess the impact of these programs on homeschool regulation,” the group stated on its website. “Our findings? Not a single state has ever experienced an increase in homeschooling regulations as a result of these programs. In several states, regulation actually decreased.”

Texas homeschool officials also noted that two recent national surveys show homeschool families support school-choice programs. One survey from last year found that 84 percent of homeschool parents nationally expressed support for ESAs. A second national survey, conducted by Morning Consult from 2023-2024, found 71 percent of homeschoolers support ESAs. And a Texas-specific survey from 2017 found 71 percent support among homeschoolers.

The Texas research paper also pointed to that polling, stating that “there is a notable disconnect between what homeschool families say that they want when it comes to private school choice and the position that state organizations often take on the subject.”