Recent Study

Private School Participants in Programs under the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Private School and Public School Perspectives.

Statistics About Non-Public Education in the United States

About 12 percent of elementary and secondary school students in the U.S. are enrolled in non-public education. This includes students educated in private schools and at home.

Private Schools

Schools and Enrollment

In the fall of 2003, there were an estimated

• 28,384 private elementary and secondary schools, with
• 5,122,772 students, and
• 425,238 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers.

Private schools comprised about 23 percent of elementary and secondary schools in the U.S., and enrolled about 10 percent of U.S. elementary and secondary school students.

Private Schools in the U.S.
Percentage By NCES Typology
2003-2004

Other Religious Conservative Christian Affiliated Unaffiliated	48% 19% 12% 19%			Nonsectarian Regular Special Emphasis Special Education	24% 10% 8% 5%
				Catholic Parochial Diocesan Private	28% 14% 10% 3%

Private School Students in the U.S.
Percentage By NCES Typology
2003-2004

Other Religious Conservative Christian Affiliated Unaffiliated	36% 15% 11% 10%			Nonsectarian Regular Special Emphasis Special Education	18% 12% 4% 2%
				Catholic Parochial Diocesan Private	46% 21% 18% 7%

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Private School Universe Survey, Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results From the 2003-2004 Private School Universe Survey (3/2006)

Tuition

For the 2003-04 school year, national average private school tuition was

• $4,300 for elementary schools,
• $10,600 for secondary schools; and
• $6,900 for combined schools.

Source: NCES, Schools and Staffing Survey

Homeschooling

Number of Homeschooled Students

In the spring of 2003, an estimated 1,096,000 students were being homeschooled in the U.S. This represents a 29 percent increase from the estimated 850,000 students who were being homeschooled in the spring of 1999.

In addition, the estimated homeschooling rate—the percentage of the school-aged population being homeschooled—rose from 1.7 percent in 1999 to 2.2 percent in 2003.

Reasons for Homeschooling

Parents give various reasons for the decision to educate their children at home. In the spring of 2003, the reasons parents most frequently cited as their most important reason for homeschooling were

• Concern about the environment of other schools, including concerns about safety, drugs, and negative peer pressure (31 percent of parents);
• To provide religious or moral instruction (30 percent); and
• Dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools (16 percent).

Source: NCES, National Household Education Surveys Program, Homeschooling in the United States: 2003 (2/2006)

For additional statistics about non-public education in the United States

Statistical Resources for Nonpublic Schools: A Guide to National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Surveys, Studies, and Reports of Interest to the Private and Home School Communities

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

Selected NCES publications with statistics about non-public education

Private School Universe Survey (PSS)

Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS)

National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES)

National Assessment of Educational Progress (The Nation's Report Card)