A newly issued policy in the Diocese of San Diego forbids homeschool groups from using space at area parishes, while allowing parishes to rent space to non-Catholic schools on a case-by-case basis.
Some homeschooling co-op groups in the diocese were reportedly notified of the policy only days before beginning weekly classes, with one group forced to find an immediate alternative location to accommodate weekly classes offered for at least 40 children.
While the Diocese of San Diego has not responded to The Pillar’s questions on the policy, sources in the diocese say it comes amid growth in homeschooling in the region, and tension in the San Diego diocese over the phenomenon.
A memo sent to parish and school administrators last week explained that “the use of parish facilities by charter schools, home school programs, or private school programs is prohibited, both because such usage can undermine the stability of nearby Catholic schools and lead people to think that the Church is approving and advancing particular alternative schools and programs.”
The policy — dated Sept. 1 but reportedly distributed Sept. 18 — explained that “the purpose of parish facilities is to celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ and to serve the needs of the Catholic community. This includes the teaching mission of the Church.”
“Parish run schools and religious education programs are the primary means by which the Church accomplishes its teaching mission for children and young people,” the text added.
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Sources in the San Diego diocese told The Pillar that the memo comes amid tension in the area, especially as the number of homeschoolers in the area is on the rise.
Homeschool enrollment increased by 78% across California between 2017 and 2023, making the state one of the fastest growing regions for homeschooling in the country. In the San Diego Unified School District, homeschooling has grown even faster — by nearly 130% since 2017, jumping from 420 school students that year to 961 in 2023.
Private schools in the area have also experienced growth with 14.8% of students in the San Diego metro area attending private school in 2022, up from 10.7% in 2019.
But even with many Catholic schools in the area filled to capacity — and homeschool seeming to represent little threat to their viability — the rise of homeschooling has reportedly presented challenges at some San Diego parishes, and for some diocesan officials.
According to a source with knowledge of the issue — who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the record — the tension is a combination of practical issues which have arisen in parishes, and of perceptions about homeschooling communities among diocesan officials.
One catalyst for issues, sources say, is that some homeschooling communities have reportedly requested in recent months to conduct their own sacramental prep initiatives, apart from ordinary parish CCD programs — despite diocesan policy emphasizing that homeschooling families should utilize established parish catechetical classes.
“For some people, there’s a sense — right or wrong — that the homeschool parents don’t want their kids going to CCD with other kids from the parish. And that’s caused frustration,” one source told The Pillar.
“Some parishes just don’t want to deal with anything outside the norm,” a source explained, “but on the other hand, homeschool families haven’t always approached the parish well when there are issues. So that becomes part of the narrative.”
At the same time, sources have said that some diocesan officials have little experience with homeschooling, and that some have expressed suspicion about the theological commitments of homeschooling families.
“The homeschool stuff stands out in the chancery,” one source told The Pillar, “and not in a good way.”
Diocesan policy promulgated in 2020 emphasizes that homeschooling families are required to participate in parish sacramental preparation activities — including retreats and other gatherings — and that while instruction can be done by families, with a pastor’s approval, religious education of children “cannot be done independently of the parish.”
“All religious education must be carried out in a way that builds unity within the Church. No home schooling can be tolerated which does not promote the understanding that being a Christian is not a private matter of individual choice but rather of a personal vocation within the context of the Church lived out in the experience of the parish community,” the 2020 policy states.
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While the new San Diego policy is dated Sept. 1, documents reviewed by The Pillar suggest the diocesan presbyteral council was consulted about the issue in mid-September, with a memo sent to priests and school administrators Sept. 18.
The presbyteral council of the diocese reportedly supported the policy, according to several sources close to the chancery.
The policy also permits the rental of unused school buildings to a “non-Catholic educational program or school,” but only on “a case-by-case basis with approval by the Bishop, always emphasizing that there are no conflicts in its mission with Catholic doctrine and that such a rental will not harm neighboring Catholic schools.”
In some U.S. dioceses, long-term rental arrangements of closed school buildings, often to charter schools, have been a financial boon to struggling parishes.
In San Diego, at least one homeschooling group with roughly 40 students has begun meeting at a family residence for weekly co-op enrichment classes, while others are reportedly continuing to meet at parishes, as pastors and administrators seek clarity about when the groups will have to leave — especially those with formal leases to rent spaces from parishes.
But while a timeline has not yet been established, “eventually these co-ops will be exited from parish properties,” one San Diego priest wrote last week to homeschooling families, in a memo obtained by The Pillar.
The Diocese of San Diego has not responded to interview requests on the subject.
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