The state Senate district represented by Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) saw a 524.2 percent increase in the number of seventh- through 12-graders leaving public school campuses for homeschooling between 1997 and 2019, according to Texas Education Agency (TEA) data.
On a year-over-year basis, that represents a 9.1 percent hike in students leaving the public schools for homeschooling, the TEA data indicates. The number of students opting out of public schools and into homeschooling in 1997-1998 was 167, compared to 1,044 in 2018-2019, the data shows.
The trend in Senate District 21 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 percent, while at the same time public school enrollment went up only 41 percent, 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 percent, according to the report.
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Withdrawals to Homeschooling by State Senate District
| Senate District | Senator | 1997-1998 Withdrawals | 2018-2019 Withdrawals | 1997-2019 Withdrawals | Withdrawal Totals for Last 5 Years | Compound Annual Growth Rate | 1997-2019 Growth Rate |
| 20 | Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen) | 90 | 673 | 7,905 | 2,941 | 10.1% | 646.1% |
| 27 | Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville) | 101 | 648 | 6,372 | 2,884 | 9.3% | 543.3% |
| 21 | Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) | 167 | 1,044 | 14,588 | 5,126 | 9.1% | 524.2% |
| 14 | Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) | 224 | 1,249 | 17,533 | 7,334 | 8.5% | 457.9% |
| 12 | Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) | 244 | 1,264 | 24,116 | 8,983 | 8.1% | 417.2% |
| 5 | Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) | 286 | 1,360 | 18,469 | 6,191 | 7.7% | 375.8% |
| 1 | Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) | 405 | 1,821 | 21,623 | 6,484 | 7.4% | 350.0% |
| 24 | Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway) | 530 | 2,176 | 31,455 | 10,260 | 7.0% | 310.8% |
| 30 | Drew Springer (R-Muenster) | 450 | 1,846 | 28,515 | 8,499 | 7.0% | 310.1% |
| 25 | Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) | 481 | 1,920 | 28,854 | 9,083 | 6.8% | 298.9% |
| 6 | Carol Alvarado (D-Houston) | 371 | 1,445 | 29,304 | 8,611 | 6.7% | 289.4% |
| 4 | Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) | 476 | 1,689 | 29,263 | 8,163 | 6.2% | 254.7% |
| 28 | Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) | 374 | 1,308 | 18,045 | 5,726 | 6.1% | 249.7% |
| 15 | John Whitmire (D-Houston) | 454 | 1,585 | 33,141 | 9,066 | 6.1% | 249.2% |
| 19 | Roland Gutierrez (D-Bexar) | 522 | 1,801 | 24,342 | 8,993 | 6.1% | 244.9% |
| 7 | Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) | 457 | 1,423 | 29,419 | 8,265 | 5.6% | 211.2% |
| 26 | José Menéndez (D-San Antonio) | 513 | 1,534 | 21,695 | 6,983 | 5.4% | 199.1% |
| 13 | Borris L. Miles (D-Houston) | 345 | 1,026 | 16,430 | 6,077 | 5.3% | 197.1% |
| 18 | Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) | 502 | 1,476 | 30,710 | 7,263 | 5.3% | 194.0% |
| 17 | Joan Huffman (R-Houston) | 634 | 1,759 | 33,105 | 9,961 | 5.0% | 177.5% |
| 29 | César J. Blanco (D-El Paso) | 125 | 344 | 3,713 | 1,344 | 4.9% | 174.2% |
| 31 | Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) | 418 | 1,142 | 14,888 | 4,670 | 4.9% | 173.5% |
| 9 | Kelly Hancock (D-Fort Worth) | 414 | 1,096 | 22,433 | 5,334 | 4.7% | 164.9% |
| 11 | Larry Taylor (R-League City) | 369 | 932 | 17,736 | 4,419 | 4.5% | 152.4% |
| 10 | Beverly Powell (D-Fort Worth) | 356 | 863 | 19,372 | 4,329 | 4.3% | 142.3% |
| 23 | Royce West (D-Dallas) | 245 | 560 | 13,598 | 3,592 | 4.0% | 128.3% |
| 3 | Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) | 747 | 1,620 | 30,424 | 8,061 | 3.8% | 116.8% |
| 22 | Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) | 521 | 1,030 | 22,713 | 5,139 | 3.3% | 97.5% |
| 8 | Angela Paxton (R-McKinney) | 441 | 720 | 12,776 | 3,240 | 2.4% | 63.3% |
| 2 | Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) | 767 | 1,163 | 24,942 | 5,378 | 2.0% | 51.7% |
| 16 | Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) | 488 | 576 | 13,633 | 3,422 | 0.8% | 18.0% |
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