Tyler Reporter

The district represented by state Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler) saw a 454% increase in the number of seventh- through 12th-graders leaving public school campuses for homeschooling between 1997 and 2019, according to Texas Education Agency data.

On a year-over-year basis, that represents a 8.5% hike in students leaving the public schools for homeschooling, the TEA data indicates.

The trend in House District 6 mirrors what has been happening in other districts around the state, the TEA reports. Over this time period, transfers from public schools to homeschooling in Texas rose 228%, while at the same time public school enrollment went up only 41%, the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC) reported.

In the 2018-2019 school year alone, the number of students leaving Texas public schools to be homeschooled stood at nearly 23,000, according to the TEA. And the THSC expects the 2020 numbers to show that withdrawals from the public system to homeschooling are continuing at a record-breaking pace.

To help the state to better adapt to the rise in homeschooling, some state legislators have introduced legislation to allow home-schooled children to take part in the University Interscholastic League, which provides activities including sports, music and debate teams

The homeschooling trends dovetail with data from a Texas 2036 report that concluded 242,000 fewer students were enrolled in Texas public schools in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic compared to the previous year. That represents a year-over-year drop of 4%, according to the report.

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Homeschooling Withdrawals by State House District

State House District	Representative	2018-2019 Withdrawals	1997-2019 Withdrawals	Withdrawal Totals for Last 5 Years	Compound Annual Growth Rate	1997-2019 Growth Rate
49	Gina Hinojosa	474	5,898	2,505	26.7%	14274%
42	Richard Peña Raymond	158	1,319	802	20.0%	4688%
36	Sergio Muñoz, Jr.	387	3,386	1,837	17.5%	2832%
41	Bobby Guerra	354	2,776	1,366	15.7%	2046%
51	Eddie Rodriguez	329	5,247	1,783	14.7%	1668%
46	Sheryl Cole	641	9,942	4,221	11.7%	919%
50	Celia Israel	733	9,814	3,734	11.6%	907%
128	Briscoe Cain	565	11,342	2,842	10.9%	776%
33	Justin Holland	307	3,978	1,406	10.7%	746%
129	Dennis Paul	492	9,377	2,282	10.5%	708%
56	Charles Anderson	185	3,415	918	10.4%	702%
97	Craig Goldman	403	5,606	1,809	10.4%	700%
74	Eddie Morales Jr.	224	2,386	796	9.5%	578%
9	Chris Paddie	773	4,812	1,571	8.9%	494%
48	Donna Howard	601	8,683	3,009	8.7%	476%
84	John Frullo	274	3,071	1,158	8.7%	473%
39	Armando Martinez	264	1,868	962	8.6%	462%
6	Matt Schaefer	374	5,228	1,853	8.5%	454%
37	Alex Dominguez	116	1,311	588	8.5%	453%
52	James Talarico	655	7,927	3,052	8.4%	442%

Source: Texas Education Agency