Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in a formal setting of public or private school. Although prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education occurred within the family or community, homeschooling in the modern sense is an alternative in developed countries to formal education.Homeschooling is a legal option in many places for parents to provide their children with a learning environment as an alternative to publicly-provided schools. Parents cite numerous reasons as motivations to home school, including better academic test results, poor public school environment, improved character/morality development, and objections to what is taught locally in public school. It is also an alternative for families living in isolated rural locations or living temporarily abroad.

Homeschool Facts is the brainchild of a consortium of homeschool parents, licensed educators, counselors and researchers. We are passionate about education choice, and especially the parent's right to choose their child's education.When we came to homeschooling, there was little information available, and even less homeschool support. Over the past couple of years, we have collected information about and for homeschoolers. Homeschooling is the single fastest growing educational trend in the United States, and that trend is expanding worldwide.Home schooling as an alternative to public or private school is here to stay. In addition, publicly funded vouchers for education have major implications for home schoolers as well as for traditional forms of education. Ultimately, courts will have to answer the question of whether parents who home school their children are eligible for publicly funded vouchers. I believe the Constitution is on the side of the home schoolers in this matter. The implications of all of this are staggering.
There are many reasons for the shift toward home schooling. It certainly has become an increasingly attractive alternative for many parents who are concerned with traditional education systems. If you are considering home schooling for one or more of your children, make sure you have reliable information upon which to make a decision. There are thousands of sites on the Internet that have information about home schooling, some useful, some not, and some that exist merely to espouse a particular philosophy under the guise of home schooling.

Differences in each state homeschooling requirements may also impact the results of any research into homeschooling. In Washington State, for example, the word homeschooling is legally defined, and defenders of the homeschooling law are quick to pounce on any family who may be participating in an alternative education program where schooling takes place in the home. A true Washington State homeschooler, they say, is independent of any school district. This leaves families who participate in a state-funded homeschooling program with the official status of "public schooled students" giving the schools "credit" for their test scores, from a legal standpoint.In California, families have registered their homes as private schools. In lieu of an official law giving families the right to say “we are a homeschool” they can only declare “we are a private school” and even come up with a school name, and letterhead. Any changes to private school laws in California, like teacher certification requirements, or annual testing requirements, could affect the homeschoolers rights to continue operating.