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The district represented by state Rep. Dennis Paul (R-Houston) saw a 708% increase in the number of seventh- through 12th-graders leaving public school campuses for homeschooling between 1997 and 2019, according to Texas Education Agency data.
On a year-over-year basis, that represents a 10.5% hike in students leaving the public schools for homeschooling, the TEA data indicates.
The trend in House District 129 mirrors what has been happening in other districts around the state, the TEA reports. Over this time period, transfers from public schools to homeschooling in Texas rose 228%, while at the same time public school enrollment went up only 41%, the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC) reported.
In the 2018-2019 school year alone, the number of students leaving Texas public schools to be homeschooled stood at nearly 23,000, according to the TEA. And the THSC expects the 2020 numbers to show that withdrawals from the public system to homeschooling are continuing at a record-breaking pace.
To help the state to better adapt to the rise in homeschooling, some state legislators have introduced legislation to allow home-schooled children to take part in the University Interscholastic League, which provides activities including sports, music and debate teams
The homeschooling trends dovetail with data from a Texas 2036 report that concluded 242,000 fewer students were enrolled in Texas public schools in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic compared to the previous year. That represents a year-over-year drop of 4%, according to the report.
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Homeschooling Withdrawals by State House District
| State House District | Representative | 2018-2019 Withdrawals | 1997-2019 Withdrawals | Withdrawal Totals for Last 5 Years | Compound Annual Growth Rate | 1997-2019 Growth Rate |
| 49 | Gina Hinojosa | 474 | 5,898 | 2,505 | 26.7% | 14274% |
| 42 | Richard Peña Raymond | 158 | 1,319 | 802 | 20.0% | 4688% |
| 36 | Sergio Muñoz, Jr. | 387 | 3,386 | 1,837 | 17.5% | 2832% |
| 41 | Bobby Guerra | 354 | 2,776 | 1,366 | 15.7% | 2046% |
| 51 | Eddie Rodriguez | 329 | 5,247 | 1,783 | 14.7% | 1668% |
| 46 | Sheryl Cole | 641 | 9,942 | 4,221 | 11.7% | 919% |
| 50 | Celia Israel | 733 | 9,814 | 3,734 | 11.6% | 907% |
| 128 | Briscoe Cain | 565 | 11,342 | 2,842 | 10.9% | 776% |
| 33 | Justin Holland | 307 | 3,978 | 1,406 | 10.7% | 746% |
| 129 | Dennis Paul | 492 | 9,377 | 2,282 | 10.5% | 708% |
| 56 | Charles Anderson | 185 | 3,415 | 918 | 10.4% | 702% |
| 97 | Craig Goldman | 403 | 5,606 | 1,809 | 10.4% | 700% |
| 74 | Eddie Morales Jr. | 224 | 2,386 | 796 | 9.5% | 578% |
| 9 | Chris Paddie | 773 | 4,812 | 1,571 | 8.9% | 494% |
| 48 | Donna Howard | 601 | 8,683 | 3,009 | 8.7% | 476% |
| 84 | John Frullo | 274 | 3,071 | 1,158 | 8.7% | 473% |
| 39 | Armando Martinez | 264 | 1,868 | 962 | 8.6% | 462% |
| 6 | Matt Schaefer | 374 | 5,228 | 1,853 | 8.5% | 454% |
| 37 | Alex Dominguez | 116 | 1,311 | 588 | 8.5% | 453% |
| 52 | James Talarico | 655 | 7,927 | 3,052 | 8.4% | 442% |
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