There are about 62,000 home-schoolers in Virginia — a number that has doubled over the past decade and is up 40 percent since fall 2019.

Experts say home schooling has grown in popularity across the socio-political spectrum, from the religious right to the humanist left, driven in recent years not only by the COVID-19 pandemic but also by the culture wars being waged in many school districts.

“I think it will permanently change the landscape of education,” said Yvonne Bunn, director of government affairs for the Home Educators Association of Virginia. … [My story for Virginia Mercury]