The number of home schools in Cabarrus County has more than tripled in the last 10 years. But Cabarrus County is part of a larger state trend.

Increasing numbers of parents across the state have taught their children at home since North Carolina legalized home instruction beginning with the 1985-86 school year.

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The N.C. Division of Non-Public Education cites several reasons why parents open their own schools, from developing their children’s basic skills before they enter traditional school to allowing them to take more challenging courses.

“The one that would jump out the most would be the number of people who elect to classify themselves as religious schools year after year,” said Rod Helder, director of the N.C.

In the interests of ‘asking homeschoolers about homeschooling’ (instead of asking government agencies), and the insistence of tracking families who aren’t using public money, more about the North Carolina Division of Non-Public Education can be found at The Daily Tantrum.

Home school enrollment constitutes about 4 percent of the state’s compulsory-attendance-age students, those students who are between the ages 7 and 16.

The division lists a number of reasons that parents choose to home school their children, including the belief that educating their children is the parents’ responsibility, a wish to teach academic subjects from a religious perspective and a desire for more family time, among other reasons.