A child practices writing letters Sept. 21, 2021. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a directive May 27, 2025, telling the Pentagon to look into expanding access to base facilities and education resources for military families that homeschool. (Eric Cerami/U.S. Army)
The Defense Department will review the feasibility of giving military families that homeschool their children greater access to on-base facilities and educational resources.
A directive issued Tuesday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth builds on a January executive order focused on “expanding educational freedom.”
The executive order called for the Pentagon to assess whether military-connected families can use DOD funds to attend schools of their choice, including private, faith-based or public charter schools.
Hegseth said an additional review is necessary to assess levels of homeschooling support available to military families worldwide.
Hegseth’s order directed DOD’s office of personnel and readiness to conduct a department-wide review of its current support for homeschooling families and identify best practices, including “the feasibility of providing facilities or access to other resources for those students.”
Homeschooling is popular among military families, who relocate much more often than their civilian counterparts. For some, it provides educational stability amid frequent moves.
A March report by the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University found that active-duty military families homeschool their children at double the rate of civilian families.
In 2023-24, the rate was 12% for the former and around 6% for the latter, the report said.
“Frequent moves or family separation are driving factors in choosing homeschooling to stabilize and prioritize their family life,” the report said.
While Department of Defense Education Activity schools are generally regarded as better than most public schools, “the threat of frequent moves may offset the potential benefit of schools on military bases for some families,” the report said.
The review is intended to strengthen military families and improve their quality of life, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in the statement.
