Homeschooling in SC (South Carolina)

Is Homeschooling in SC (South Carolina) Allowed?

According to South Carolina homeschool laws, parents or guardians are permitted to homeschool in South Carolina. The homeschooler may register with: the local school district or an independent accountability association

South Carolina Homeschool Summary

If you are homeschooling in the state of South Carolina, you need to follow these steps:

1. Get approval by the district board of trustees. For you to homeschool, you must prove to the board that you will follow the regulations given below.
2. Have a GED or High School diploma. All parents must have a minimum of this requirement to homeschool their child/ren.
3. School at least 180 days. The instructional requirement for a day is at least 4 ½ hours of study. 
4. Include curriculum for reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Note that grade 7-12 also need composition and literature. 
5. Maintain records. These records must include a plan book or other record of subjects and activities taught, a portfolio of the child’s work, and a record of academic evaluations. This must be given as a semi-annual progress report and submitted to the school district.
6. Take statewide testing. This testing will be on an annual basis and through the Basic Skills Assessment Program.
7. Release the district from liability regarding your child’s education.

Homeschooling in South Carolina Requirement

The State Department of Education shall conduct annually a review of the association standards to insure that requirements of the association, at a minimum, include:

1. a parent must hold at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general educational development (GED) certificate; If you don’t have either of the above but hold a higher-level degree, the usual understanding is that this requirement has been met.
2. the instructional year is at least one hundred eighty days; If your child has been in a public or private school setting and you begin homeschooling mid-year, count previous days in the 180 day total. Also, the 180 days do not need to follow the normal public school calendar. You may school year-around, 3 months on/1 month off, 6 weeks on/1 week off, or whatever schedule best meets the needs of your family — as long as the total is 180 days per year.
3. 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; This is usually understood to mean that after 6th grade, reading becomes literature and writing becomes composition. Some families just document these subjects as Reading/Literature, and Writing/Composition regardless of grade level, and in high school these subjects are covered as part of the normal English 1, English 2, etc. sequence.
4. educational records shall be maintained by the parent-teacher and include:
• a plan book, diary, or other record indicating subjects taught and activities in which the student and parent-teacher engage;  This can be daily or weekly or somewhere in between. Learning objectives can be planned in advance or written down after the learning is completed. See my Record-Keeping and Testing FAQs for more information to help you determine the best record-keeping method for your family. 
• a portfolio of samples of the student’s academic work; and
• You don’t need to keep a copy of everything your child does. Just include samples that represent your child’s work in the different subject areas. Some areas are a little more difficult to document than others, but it’s doable. See my Record-Keeping and Testing FAQsfor more information.
•  a semiannual progress report including attendance records and individualized documentation of the student’s academic progress in each of the basic instructional areas specified in item (c) above.
• This can be as simple as a report card, or it can be a non-graded summary of the topics studied and progress made in each of the subject areas. See my Record-Keeping and Testing FAQs for more information

By January thirtieth of each year, all associations shall report the number and grade level of children home schooled through the association to the children’s respective school districts.

Kindergarten and Compulsory Attendance Requirements

• 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 (public, private, or homeschool) if s(he) turns 5 before September 1st of that school year. Parents may sign a waiver, however, excusing their child from kindergarten if the child does not turn 6 on or before September 1st of that school year. The waiver is a simple statement that releases the school district from any educational “deficiencies” that occur due to the absence of your child from kindergarten. If you sign the waiver, they must honor it. If you’re homeschooling only a kindergartener and complete the waiver, you do not have to register with a homeschool association for oversight. 

Many parents, however, choose oversight by a homeschool association for their kindergartener in order to avoid contact with their local school district. The compulsory attendance age in SC is 5 years old (or 6 years old with a kindergarten waiver) before September 1 until the child reaches 17 or graduates from high school.

Equal Access to Interscholastic Activities

Interscholastic activities includes, but is not limited to, athletics, music, speech, and other extracurricular activities.

Individual Governor’s school students and home school students may not be denied by a school district the opportunity to participate in interscholastic activities if the:

1. student meets all school district eligibility requirements with the exception of the:  a) school district’s school or class attendance requirements; and class and enrollment requirements of the associations administering the interscholastic activities;
2. student’s teacher, in the case of a Governor’s school student, certifies by submitting an affidavit to the school district that the student fully complies with the law and any attendance, class, or enrollment requirements for a Governor’s school. In addition, a charter school student’s teacher, in the same manner required by this subsection for a Governor’s school student, also must certify by affidavit to the student’s school district that the student fully complies with the law and any attendance, class, or enrollment requirements for a charter school in order for the student to participate in interscholastic activities in the manner permitted by Chapter 40 of this title;
3. student participating in interscholastic activities: (a) resides within the attendance boundaries of the school for which the student participates; or (b) in the case of a Governor’s school student, resides or attends a Governor’s school within the attendance boundaries of the school for which the student participates; and
4. student notifies the superintendent of the school district in writing of his intent to participate in the interscholastic activity as a representative of the school before the beginning date of the season for the activity in which he wishes to participate.

A public school student who has been unable to maintain academic eligibility is ineligible to participate in interscholastic activities as a charter school student, Governor’s school student, or home school student for the following semester. To establish eligibility for subsequent school years, the student’s teacher shall certify by submitting an affidavit to the school district that the student meets the relevant policies of the school at which the student wishes to participate.

A Governor’s school student or home school student is required to fulfill the same responsibilities and standards of behavior and performance, including related practice requirements, of other students participating in the interscholastic activities of the team or squad and is required to meet the same standards for acceptance on the team or squad.

A Governor’s school may not be denied by a school district the opportunity to have a team representing the school participate in interscholastic activities if the team meets the same eligibility requirements of other teams. An individual Governor’s school student may not participate in an interscholastic activity of a public school district if the school that the student is enrolled in has a team or squad participating in that interscholastic activity.

A school district may not contract with a private entity that supervises interscholastic activities if the private entity prohibits the participation of charter school students, Governor’s school students, or home school students in interscholastic activities.

thats the information that we can gather about homeschooling in south carolina. hopefully this information is useful for you. for further information, visit the source page.

Sources:

1. http://www.homeschoolingsc.org

2. www.homeschoolacademy.com

3. http://www.carolinahomeschooler.com