In the United States, all children must be educated, but state and local governments determine how many years of schooling they must have and what constitutes “education.” Most American children must attend school starting at age 5 or 6 and continue until they are between 16 and 18 years of age (“State Education Practices.” National Center for Education Statistics). Each state maintains free public schools that all children can attend, but parents and guardians are also allowed to choose other educational options for their children, such as paid private schools or homeschooling.

Homeschooling refers to the practice of educating children outside of both the public and private school systems. Often, this kind of schooling takes place in the students’ own homes, but it may also take place in other locations. The defining characteristic of “homeschool” is that a student’s parents or guardians are the people in charge of shaping and providing the child’s education; they may adopt the role of teachers themselves or hire tutors and other experts, but they retain control of curriculum, the hours of schooling, and other aspects of their child’s educational experience.

According to the Pew Research Center, about 3.4% of American children were homeschooled in the 2022-23 school year (Pula, Isabelle. “A Look at Homeschooling in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, 20 Feb. 2025). The most frequent reason parents and guardians cite for making this choice is the perceived safety of the school environment, but the majority of homeschooling families also express concerns about adequate instruction: They believe that existing schools do not do enough to teach either academic materials or moral values (“A Look at Homeschooling in the U.S.”).

In Old School, Dexter is being homeschooled because of a more unusual situation: His grandmother actually has no objection to the public school system, but because of a combination of unusual circumstances, she simply never got around to enrolling Dexter in school. She ensures that he receives a very good education at The Pines, the retirement community where Dexter lives with her, but a truancy officer from the local community insists that Dexter begin attending the local public middle school immediately. In the real world, a truancy officer would only have the authority to do this if a child’s parent or guardian failed to comply with state and local reporting requirements, which are designed to ensure that homeschooled children are receiving an adequate education (“Truancy.” Numa, 29 Dec. 2025).