Non-Public Education in the United States The non-public education community in the U.S. provides parents with important options for the education of their children. At the elementary and secondary levels, faith-based
and nonsectarian private schools, along with a growing number of children who are home schooled, account for approximately 12 percent of the school-age population.
Private Schools
Private schools were the original schools in the U.S. and currently account for about 24 percent of all elementary and secondary schools, 10 percent of all students and 12 percent of all full-time teachers. Seventy-seven percent of private schools have a religious affiliation, while the remaining 23 percent are nonsectarian.(1) Choice is a defining characteristic of private schools as families may freely choose private education, and private schools generally choose which students to accept. Although nonpublic governance and enrollment choices are features that all private schools share, private schools vary widely.
Home Schooling
A growing number of U.S. students receive their education through home schooling. About 1.1 million students were home schooled in the U. S. in the spring of 2003, an increase from an estimated 850,000 in the spring of 1999. In addition, the estimated home schooling rate -- the percentage of the school-age population that was being home schooled -- increased from 1.7 percent in 1999 to 2.2 percent in 2003.(2)
1. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results from the 2001-2002 Private School Universe Survey (Washington, DC: NCES, 2004).
2. U.S. Department of Education, NCES, 1.1 Million Homeschooled Students in the
United States in 2003 (Washington, DC: NCES, 2004).