You might assume charter school politics have little to do with your family’s homeschool journey, but new data would suggest otherwise. Nearly half of charter school leaders across Arizona, Florida, and Utah say they’ve seen a stagnation or even decline in student enrollment due to Education Savings Accounts. Many families are using these funds to subsidize their homeschool or hybrid microschool-homeschool education, according to a survey by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
The survey, published in August 2026, reveals the impact that the universal adoption of Education Savings Accounts has had on charter schools. Each of these states was not only an early adopter of universal education savings accounts, but also had a thriving charter school sector already in place when these policies were adopted. Respondents across all three states reported a growing perception that private schools and microschools now offer superior flexibility and autonomy compared to their own schools and many have seen their enrollment stagnate or decline as each ESA program became established.
What Does This Mean for Homeschoolers?
While these results are self-reported (285 charter school leaders surveyed in three states: Arizona, Florida, and Utah), they paint an interesting initial picture of what the ongoing adoption of education savings accounts may mean for homeschooling and microschools.
Based on these initial survey results, families are voting with their feet: many of them are finding the flexibility they are looking for in homeschooling. Homeschooling is expanding and so are the many ways you can homeschool (or at least that’s how we see homeschooling evolving.) This survey only underscores the broader trend towards this new model of flexibility in K-12 education across the nation. With more structure than traditional homeschooling and more flexibility than a traditional or charter school, families are increasingly utilizing a mixed education model that best fits their needs.
This means that homeschoolers may continue to see a growing base of new homeschoolers flowing from charter schools in addition to other public schools if they can’t keep up with the flexibility that homeschooling and microschooling offer.
A significant change is happening in our country and if you choose to homeschool using education savings account funding, you are a part of the driving force that is changing America’s school system, including charter schools.
What Does this Mean for the Future of Charters?
Charters must now compete for students who would previously have automatically chosen their school. This may push charters toward a more “parent-centric” model of education, as AEI’s analysis assumes. It’s just as likely to prompt entirely new policy pushed by charter leaders to protect and support their own model, or something else entirely. Arizona, Florida, and Utah are initial models which will serve as helpful predictors for the future of education, but they are certainly far from representative of what every state would choose as an education model.
We will continue to provide simple, clear information on national homeschool news and policy changes. We update our blog weekly every Monday, so be sure to check back regularly for the latest homeschooling news, with practical insights for families.