SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — It’s not hard to find a student across South Dakota. But what might be changing, is where you find them.
Data from the South Dakota Department of Education from 2024 to 2025 shows a bit of a switchup. Last school year, 137,313 kids were enrolled in public schools; that number went down to 135,577 this year. Non-public schools also declined slightly with 15,185 students last year and 15,043 this year. But, one of the categories that is growing is alternative instruction, also known as homeschooling, with 11,489 last year, to 12,433. That’s an increase of almost 950 kids in just a year.
Police track down stolen guns in Sioux Falls
11-year-old Sophia Heiberger is just one of the over 12 hundred students that are being homeschooled. She says she likes it.
“My mom gets to choose what curriculum we use and then it kind of helps our family work together and we get a lot more time together as well as when we homeschool,” 11-year-old Sophia Heiberger said…