Homeschooling

Homeschooling is one of controversial Topics in America's Public Schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, around 1.5 million pupils were homeschooled in the United States in 2007. Families report choosing homeschooling over regular education as a way to control the substance of their children's learning as well as the influence and safety of their environment, citing mostly religious reasons or concerns about the school environment. While the right to homeschool is not legally restricted, several states impose individual criteria for instructor qualifications or educational standards.

Any official debate regarding homeschooling usually revolves around the level of a state's monetary obligation to homeschoolers, as well as the amount of control a state has over homeschool curricula. Many people who are involved in a debate about homeschooling, however, believe that it is academically inadequate, isolating, or a cover for abuse. While traditional education advocates, such as the National Education Association (NEA), warn of the negative effects and costs of homeschooling, proponents of the practice continue to extol its flexibility and child-centered benefits.