The Data on Homeschooling | An Interview with Dany Shakeel

Dr. Brian Ray and Professor Danish (Dany) Shakeel launched their investigation into calls for homeschooling bans—when no significant data exists to justify these demands. After conducting an in-depth study that shed new light on the factors contributing to child welfare, their research revealed that risks were double outside the home, proving that the family plays a crucial role in protecting children—and home is the safest place to be. Join Jim Mason, HSLDA President, and Dany Shakeel as they dive into these findings and discuss what his research means for the homeschooling community and how it disproves the recent, unsupported allegations that homeschooling leads to abuse. "If you compare the numbers, the statistics—the incidences of abuse are double in social settings as compared to at home, which means that the family is the protector of children, as compared to someone else. This makes theoretical sense because any nonsocial actor who is not a part of a family is not likely to care about the child. And on average, the parents are closer to their children. They invest in them. They are likely to protect them. And that's what we see in the data."—Dany Shakeel