We don't need no education

[dann]

Fear of school shootings, bullying and indoctrination helped fuel a pandemic-era boom in home schooling, according to an exclusive Washington Post-Schar School survey
(...)
Rather than religion, home-schoolers today are likely to be motivated by fear of school shootings, anxiety over bullying and anger with the perceived encroachment of politics into public schools, the poll finds. Yet even among those who voice such concerns, many do not share the deep-seated opposition to public education that defined home-schoolers of past decades, and the new crop is more likely to mix and match home schooling with public school, depending on their children’s needs.
Home schooling today is less religious and more diverse, poll finds (WashingtonPost, Sep 26, 2023)

Reasons for home schooling

1 Concern about school environment 74%
2 To provide moral instruction 68%
3 Dissatisfaction with academic instruction at schools 64%
4 Concern about school shootings 62%
5 Concern about bullying 58%
6 Local public schools too influenced by liberal viewpoints 46%
7 Concern about child being discriminated against 41%
8 To provide religious instruction 34%
9 Child has special needs school can't/won't meet 32%
10 Covid policies too strict at local public schools 31%
11 Child has psychological/behavioral issues made worse at school 28%
12 Covid policies not strict enough at local public schools 27%
13 Local public schools too influenced by conservative viewpoints 26%

I imagine there's considerable overlap of 6 and 10 and of 12 and 13.

Religious instruction has dropped sharply as a reason for home schooling, from almost 2/3 to 34%.

Those who home-schooled before the pandemic are twice as likely to name providing religious instruction as those who began after.
(...)
Nearly 6 in 10 said their kids would take live online classes, and about 1 in 5 plan to participate in a home-school co-op.
(...)
many were intrigued by home schooling before the pandemic but wouldn’t have tried it absent the abrupt school closures in March 2020. ... “Everything was up in the air,” she said. “We were like, let’s just try to home-school, and we’ve been doing it ever since.”

So to many parents, learning from home during the pandemic has been an inspiration - much like for the people who started WFH and want to continue doing so.

One home-schooling parent would like to see more government regulation of home schooling:

“I’ve seen some friends who basically just don’t do any curriculum and say, ‘Well, they’ll learn stuff from watching online.’ And you have 12-year-olds who can’t read,” Hotard said.

 

[dann]

John Oliver discusses homeschooling, its surprising lack of regulation in many states, and, crucially, Darth Vader’s parenting skills.
Homeschooling: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) (Last Week Tonight with John Olive on YouTube, Oct 9, 2023 - 24:23)

As almost always, an excellent show!

Some of the things it mentions:
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) (Wikipedia). Sounds good in principle, but HOLY CRAP!!!
An Ohio couple used homeschooling to spread Nazi ideology (MSNBC, Feb 3, 2023)
Inside The Online Community Where Home-Schoolers Learn How To Turn Their Kids Into ‘Wonderful Nazis’ (Huff-Post, Jan 29, 2023)

Apparently, many abusive parents use homeschooling as a way to avoid being visited by Child Protective Services, and this makes it possible for them to continue the abuse and neglect without outside interference.

Many more examples of homeschooling are mentioned in the comments to the YouTube video - both good and bad, but mostly bad.