Has South Dakota seen the largest homeschool growth of any state?

South Dakota’s rate of home-schooled students increased 143% from 2015-16 to 2023-24. according to a database compiled by John Hopkins University.

The number of home-schooled students in the state grew from 4,333 to 10,536 during that time.

Of the states that reported data for every year during the range, Tennessee (135%) and North Dakota (114%) had the next highest gains of homeschooled students.

The rapid increase in South Dakota has forced belt-tightening at public schools. Districts receive $7,000 per student from the state, resulting in a collective drop of more than $60 million in funding. The Rapid City School District sent mailers out to households where students had dropped attendance with the goal of getting them back to public school.

Home-school numbers could increase even more after Gov. Larry Rhoden announced South Dakota will opt into a federal tax program that is designed to help students attending alternative schooling.