Dr. Angela K. Dills and I estimate the effects of charter school laws and voucher programs on rates of homeschooling in the United States. The theoretical effect of vouchers on homeschooling is mixed compared to that for charter schools; private school choice programs could either: (1) increase homeschooling market share by allowing families to use voucher funding to homeschool, or (2) decrease homeschooling market share by enticing homeschooling families to send their children to private schools. On the other hand, because charter school laws do not increase funding for homeschooling, charter school laws should only reduce homeschool market share, in theory, by offering free alternatives to residentially assigned public schools.
Across most specifications and both measures of homeschooling, we observe decreases in homeschooling post-charter school laws, at least once the law has been in place for a few years. The effects for vouchers in our preferred specification are either statistically insignificant or suggest declines in home education once the program has been in place for a few years.
Read the full study here at Peabody Journal of Education.