Stay-at-Home Kids

More than 1 million American students stayed home from school in 2003—that is, they were home-schooled, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s a 29 percent increase since 1999, but still just 2.2 percent of all students. The top two reasons? Home-schooling parents believe school is dangerous, they told surveyors, or they want to provide children with a religious education.

Photo: Phillip Spears