The number of home-schooled students declined slightly in North Carolina last year, a new state tally shows.

Almost 153,000 North Carolina students were homeschooled the past school year, compared with more than 163,000 the previous year. That’s a decline of about 5%.

But the latest numbers are 7.5% above the last pre-pandemic count, posted in the summer of 2019. Homeschooling boomed when schools shifted to remote learning because of COVID-19.

In northeastern North Carolina, most homeschoolers are in the Outer Banks: 368 homeschoolers were reported in Currituck County and there were 425 in Dare.

The state’s Division of Non-Public Education estimates home-school enrollment and publishes the data in the summer after a school year ends.

The division also tallies private school enrollment but as of Monday afternoon that data had not been posted for 2022-23.

The website says it’s coming by the end of July.

WHRO staff contributed to this report

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