WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - From his laptop computer at Bruton High School, Billy Reinagel logs into Advanced Placement calculus, joining more than half a million students across the country who take classes online. His instructor teaches from her home office a few miles away, and other students are scattered across the state and as far away as Connecticut.

The senior is among a growing number of students in Virginia and nationwide taking AP calculus, psychology, environmental science and other courses online because their schools don't offer them or they don't fit into students' class schedules.

Demand is high for the state's online learning program, Virtual Virginia, and some classes have had waiting lists. But funding has remained flat--and it's uncertain whether drastic state budget cuts anticipated in Virginia and elsewhere will affect online education and further limit the number of students who can participate.

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