Both New York state and the Big Apple are seeing rapid growth in homeschooling, despite a reputation for rigid restrictions against this educational practice. <\/p>\n
\u201cNew York state now has a whopping 53,905 children being homeschooled \u2013 a figure that has more than tripled since 2009-10,\u201d Marissa Matozzo reported<\/a> for the New York Post. <\/p>\n \u201cIn New York City, those figures are also rising \u2013 with more than 14,000 children being homeschooled at last count.\u201d <\/p>\n This represents an increase of more than 200% over the last 15 years, or \u201cthe highest rate of growth in all school sectors,\u201d according to the article. <\/p>\n This growth is even more remarkable as New York has imposed multiple requirements for homeschool families, causing the Home School Legal Defense Association to classify<\/a> it as a \u201chigh regulation\u201d state. <\/p>\n \u2018Death spiral of worsening performance, exploding costs\u2019 <\/p>\n Zilvinas Silenas, president of the Empire Center for Public Policy think tank, blames public education as a driving factor in parents turning to homeschooling. <\/p>\n \u201cFor the past few decades, New York\u2019s schools have been in a death spiral of worsening performance and exploding costs,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cNew York\u2019s taxpayers spend $37,000 \u2013 the most in the world to educate one kid \u2013 yet we lose in reading and mathematics to Mississippi, the poorest state.\u201d <\/p>\n