Most parents — about two-thirds — gave thought to switching their children to a new school last year; less than half followed through, according to new national survey, The 74 reports.
The National School Choice Awareness Foundation published a January 2025 survey asking 2,873 parents about changing their child’s school. About 60% of parents said they considered a different school, but only 28% made a change.
Of those who did move their kids, where did they relocate? Most –31% — picked a public charter or magnet school, 28% chose a public school, nearly 14% chose a private or religious school and 27% went with other options including online schooling, homeschooling or a microschool.
Alternative schooling is gaining traction. Parent interest in homeschooling, hybrid learning and microschools ballooned this year, The 74 reports, compared with similar surveys from 2022 to 2024. Nearly two-thirds of parents thought about homeschooling, up from 23%, while interest in microschools and hybrid learning jumped from 5% to 16%. The percentage of those thinking about private schools also rose, from 29% to 36%.
As alternatives become more appealing, parents are showing less interest in public schools — 35%, showed an interest this year, down from an average of 45%.
But when it came to actually switching schools, the approximately one-third of parents who made the decision tended to choose public-sector schools, according to the survey. Nearly 60% of them selected a district, public charter or magnet school.
About 30% chose private schools, homeschooling, microschools or hybrid schools, while 10% selected a full-time online education.
“The percentage of parents who enrolled their children in private-sector schools … remains relatively low,” Shelby Doyle, vice president of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, said in a press release. “This may be due to the cost of attendance for families, even with the expansion of private school choice programs such as education savings accounts.”
Private school popularity is surging, with GOP lawmakers in about a dozen states having it as a top priority for 2025, according to Education Week‘s private school choice tracker. Currently, 28 states and the District of Columbia supply public funds for parents to spend on educational options outside of public schools. That number is likely to grow, according to the tracker.
The new survey shows that the percentage of parents researching new schools declined this past year, down from 72% in the survey released in January, 2024. But it is still higher than the 50% of respondents who pondered moves in the 2022 and 2023 surveys.
Military families, younger parents and Black parents were the most likely to consider new schools for their children last year. About 40% of parents surveyed said they were likely to continue their search for a new school in 2025. Asian and Black parents indicated the most interest.
The 74
