At a 20% per annum growth rate, that number doubles every four years and hits the magic 5 million mark in five years. That is over 10% of the school-age population in the US. That growth rate has held steady for over a decade.And just think of the FTE (full-time-equivalent), a part of the ratio that is used to determine the amount of federal $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ that those local schools are entitled to!!
Lower FTE = Lower $$$$$$$$ amount!
The fastest growing segment of the home-school population managed under the aegis of public schools. It is cannibalizing the traditional privately funded home school sector. Our local religiously-based program coordinator set up 36 such programs in this County and the one adjacent. Now her program is nearly gone. Although it is in some respects her fault for having emphasized Biblical teaching at the expense of academic performance (at which she does rather badly), that alone does not explain the transition. The public schools are winning customers by offering attractive goodies. They get their FTEs and don't have to pay as many teachers or build extra classrooms. The teachers prefer working with home-schooled kids so the entire ambiance is positive. It isn't all bad, it's just that when the public schools say that they can offer the same product with the additional assurance that PC demands are met, will it be surprising to see that trap spring shut? Trap?
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, they often get to inspect the home, control of the curriculum, make sure the PC requirements are met... publicly subsidized home education is a MAJOR camel's nose. HSLDA is warning parents not to fall for this trap, but the alarm is falling on deaf ears as parents fall for the siren song of public money and use of public facilities.
It was the same bait when the public schools started.