Home schooling has the potential to greatly impact the education system but has received little attention compared to other educational trends. This report draws on the 1994 October Current Population Survey and the 1996 and 1999 National Household Education Surveys (NHES) to determine the extent of home schooling and the social, demographic, and geographic characteristics of households that engage in home schooling. Analyses indicate that home schooling is less prevalent than shown in earlier estimates but has large potential for growth. In 1999, an estimated 790,000 children aged 6-17 were schooled at home, and the number was apparently growing. Home schoolers were likely to be non-Hispanic whites, but racial differences may be fading. Households with home-schooled children tended to include two adults with moderate to high education, with one either not in the labor force or working part-time. Home schoolers were more likely to be located in places that have been destinations for internal migration. Using a division of the country based on migration patterns, home schoolers were most prevalent in rural and suburban areas of the West that have received migration streams from California and other immigration gateway states, and in rural areas of "immigrant melting pot" states. About half of parents felt that they could provide a better education at home, while 30-33 percent were motivated by religious reasons or a poor learning environment at school. (Contains 29 references and 6 tables.) (SV)