Wake County Schools Explore Letting Homeschool Students Enroll Part-Time
Local Homeschool News: North Carolina
Homeschool families in Wake County may one day have a new option. School leaders there are exploring whether to let the county’s more than 10,000 homeschool students co-enroll in the district part-time (WRAL).
The school board discussed the idea at a work session in October. Board members said they were interested, but they still have many questions. These include sports and other extracurricular activities, popular electives and magnet programs, transportation, and services such as special education. The board plans to revisit the topic at its December retreat.
Families seem interested. Wake surveyed more than 1,100 families, and about 54% said they were likely or extremely likely to use co-enrollment if it were offered.
Two schedules are being discussed. A partial-day schedule would let students attend part of each day, which may suit middle and high schoolers who want certain subjects. A partial-week schedule would let students attend two to three days a week, a model more common in elementary schools.
Wake would not be the first. Homeschool students can already co-enroll in Johnston, Cumberland, and Moore counties, among at least 74 other districts in North Carolina. The decision is made locally, and Wake does not allow it today. For more on homeschooling in the state, see our North Carolina Homeschool Laws page.
Sources:
- Emily Walkenhorst, “Wake schools floats letting homeschool students attend part-time,” WRAL, October 21, 2026