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South Carolina
Home Schooling - State Laws &
Regulations
Please Note This Important
Notice:
South Carolina
home schooling laws and regulations cannot be summarized in a short
informational page or overview. It is incumbent upon
you to perform due diligence in researching and
familiarizing yourself with your state's legal's and
regulations as they pertain to homeschooling. This
information is provided for you to give you a
starting point. This is not intended to be legal
advice and is distributed for basic informational
purposes only. For more information about the laws
and regulations in this state please contact a state
or local support group or your public library.
South Carolina Home Schooling Compulsory School Age
Between 5 and 17 years of age.
Parents must have at least a high school diploma or GED.
59-1-110. "Private school" defined.
"Private school" means a school established by an
agency other than the State or its subdivisions which is primarily
supported by other than public funds, and the operation of whose program
rests with other than publicly elected or appointed officials.
59-1-120. "Public school" defined.
"Public school" means a school operated by publicly
elected or appointed school officials in which the program and
activities are under the control of these officials and which is
supported by public funds.
59-21-10. "School" defined.
For the purpose of this article, a "school" is defined
as a division of the school system consisting of pupils composed of one
or more grade groups, organized as one unit with one or more teachers to
give instructions of a defined type, and housed in a school plant of one
or more buildings. More than one school many be housed in one school
plant, as in the case when elementary and secondary programs are housed
in the same plant.
59-65-10. Responsibility of parent or guardian;
notification by school district of availability of kindergarten;
transportation for kindergarten pupils.
(A) All parents or guardians shall cause their
children or wards to attend regularly a public or private school or
kindergarten of this State which has been approved by the State Board of
Education or a member school of the South Carolina Independent Schools'
Association or some similar organization, or a parochial,
denominational, or church-related school, or other programs which have
been approved by the State Board of Education from the school year in
which the child or ward is five years of age before September first
until the child or ward attains his seventeenth birthday or graduates
from high school. A parent or guardian whose child or ward is not six
years of age on or before the first day of September of a particular
school year may elect for their child or ward not to attend
kindergarten. For this purpose, the parent or guardian shall sign a
written document making the election with the governing body of the
school district in which the parent or guardian resides. The form of the
written document must be prescribed by regulation of the Department of
Education. Upon the written election being executed, that child or ward
may not be required to attend kindergarten.
In other words: Your child must attend kindergarten
somewhere if s(he) turns 5 by September 1st of that school year.
However, parents may sign a waiver excusing their child from
kindergarten if the child does not turn 6 by September 1st of that
school year. The waiver is a simple statement that releases the school
district from any educational deficiencies that occur from the absence
of your child from kindergarten. If you sign the waiver, they must honor
it.
**Note regarding interpretation of sections 59-1-110
and 59-65-10: Many homeschoolers in South Carolina charter as private
homeschools or homeschool through organizations which are operating as a
"similar organization" to the South Carolina Independent Schools'
Association. Some school districts regard this as a legal alternative.
Other school districts regard homeschooling through sections 59-65-40,
59-65-45, and/or 59-65-47 as the only legal alternatives for
homeschoolers.
59-65-40. Homeschooling programs.
(A) Parents or guardians may teach their children at
home if the instruction is approved by the district board of trustees of
the district in which the children reside. A district board of trustees
shall approve homeschooling programs which meet the following standards:
the parent:
(a) holds at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general
educational development (GED) certificate and, beginning in the
1989-90 school year, attains a passing score on the basic skills
examination developed pursuant to Section 59-26-20 (b) (1) after the
State Department of Education has validated the test for use with
homeschooling parents; or
(b) has earned a
baccalaureate degree;
Note: As a result of Lawrence v South Carolina
State Board. of Education (1991, SC), the requirement of (a) passing
score on the basic skills examination or (b) obtaining a
baccalaureate degree was repealed. In other words, parents must hold
at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general educational
development (GED) certificate. For more information, see CASE NOTES
following this section.
the instructional day is at least four and
one-half hours, excluding lunch and recesses, and the instructional
year is at least one hundred and eighty days;
the curriculum includes, but is not limited to,
the basic instructional areas of reading, writing, mathematics,
science, and social studies and in grades seven through twelve,
composition and literature;
as evidence that a student is receiving regular
instruction, the parent shall present a system for maintaining and
maintain the following records for inspection upon reasonable notice
by a representative of the school district:
(a) a plan book, diary, or other written record indicating subjects
taught and activities in which the student and parent engage;
(b) a portfolio of samples of the student's academic work; and
(c) a record of evaluations of the student's academic progress. A
semiannual progress report including attendance records and
individualized assessments of the student's academic progress in
each of the basic instructional areas specified in item (3) must be
submitted to the school district.
students must have access to library facilities;
students must participate in the annual statewide
testing program and the Basic Skills Assessment Program approved by
the State Board of Education for their appropriate grade level. The
tests must be administered by a certified school district employee
either with public school students or by special arrangement at the
student's place of instruction, at the parent's option. The parent
is responsible for paying the test administrator if the test is
administered at the student's home; and
**Note: As of
publication, students in grades
kindergarten through second grade are
not required to participate in statewide
testing.
parents must agree in writing to hold the
district, the district board of trustees and the district's
employees harmless for any educational deficiencies of the student
sustained as a result of home instruction. At any time the school
district determines that the parent is not maintaining the
homeschool program in keeping with the standards specified in this
section the district board of trustees shall notify the parent to
correct the deficiencies within thirty days. If the deficiencies are
not corrected within thirty days, the district board of trustees may
withdraw its approval.
(B) The district board
of trustees shall provide for an
application process which elicits the
information necessary for processing the
homeschooling request, including a
description of the program, the texts
and materials to be used, the methods of
program evaluation, and the place of
instruction. Parents must be notified in
advance of the date, place, and time of
the meeting at which the application is
considered by the board and parents may
be heard at the meeting.
(C) Within the first fifteen instructional days of
the public school year, students participating in home instruction
and eligible for enrollment in the first grade of the public schools
must be tested to determine their readiness for first grade using
the readiness instrument approved by the State Board of Education
for public school students. If a student is determined to be "not
ready" or is determined to lack the necessary emotional maturity,
the parent must be advised by appropriate school district personnel
whether a kindergarten or a first grade curriculum should be used
for the child. Nothing in this section may be interpreted to
conflict a parent's right to exempt his child from kindergarten as
provided in Section 59-65-10 (A).
**Note: As stated above, as of publication,
students in grades kindergarten through second grade are not
required to participate in statewide testing.
(D) Should a student in a homeschooling program
score below the test requirements of the promotion standard
prescribed for public school students by the State Board of
Education for one year, the district board of trustees shall decide
whether or not the student shall receive appropriate instructional
placement in the public school, special services as a handicapped
student, or homeschooling with an instructional support system at
parental expense. The right of a parent to enroll his child in a
private or parochial school as provided in Section 59-65-10 (A) is
unaffected by this provision.
**Note: As stated above, as of publication,
students in grades kindergarten through second grade are not
required to participate in statewide testing.
(E) If a parent is denied permission to begin or
continue homeschooling by a district board of trustees, the decision
of the district board of trustees may be appealed, within ten days,
to the State Board of Education. Any appeal from the decision of the
State Board of Education must be taken, within thirty days, to the
family court.
