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South Carolina Home School Law
§59-65-40 (Option 1: Home schooling through School
District)
§59-65-45 (Option 2: Home schooling through SCAIHS.org)
§59-65-47 (Option 3: Home schooling through an
independent Home School Association)
SECTION 59-65-10. Compulsory
Attendance
Responsibility of parent or guardian; notification by school district of
availability of kindergarten; transportation for kindergarten pupils.
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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
this 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.
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Each school district shall provide
transportation to and from public school for all pupils enrolled in
public kindergarten classes who request the transportation. Regulations
of the State Board of Education governing the operation of school buses
shall apply.
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:
(1) 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.
(2) 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;
(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;
(4) 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.
(5) students must
have access to library facilities;
(6) 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
(7) 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).
(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.
(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.
Attorney General's Opinions
Use of a correspondence courses does not, alone, constitute
a school under compulsory school attendance laws. 1984 Op
Atty Gen, No 84-12. p. 42.
Although school district boards of trustees may take
reasonable period of time to review and act on application
for home instruction, deadlines may not be set beyond which
applications would no longer be considered. 1991 Op Atty
Gen, No 91-8, p. 36.
Requirements of 59-65-40 must be met before parents or
guardians may teach their children at home. This is so
regardless of whether, in absence of 59-65-40, home
instruction would constitute private school or "member
school" of organization of other home schools within meaning
of 59-65-10. 1991 Op Atty Gen, No 91-8, p. 36.
Statutory provisions do not authorize students to be taught
by anyone other than their parents or guardians in a home
instruction setting. 1989 Op Atty Gen, No 89-22, p. 60.
The home instruction law does not authorize on-site visits
to a home prior to approval of a home instruction program,
nor does it authorize subsequent visits to determine whether
standards are being met; prior visits would only be
permissible with the agreement of the parent or guardian as
an alternative to providing additional information about the
place of instruction. 1989 Op Atty Gen, No 89-22, p. 60.
59-65-45. Alternative homeschooling requirements
In lieu of the
requirements of Section 59-65-40, parents or guardians may teach their
children at home if the instruction is conducted under the auspices of the
South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools. Bona fide membership
and continuing compliance with the academic standards of South Carolina
Association of Independent Home Schools exempts the homeschool from the
further requirements of Section 59-65-40.
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:
(a) a parent must
hold at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general
educational development (GED) certificate;
(b) the instructional year is at least on hundred eighty days; and
(c) the curriculum includes, but is not limited to, the basic
instructional areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, social
studies, and in grades seven through twelve, composition and literature.
By January thirtieth
of each year, the Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools
shall report the number and grade level of children homeschooled through the
association to the children's respective school districts.
SECTION
59-65-46. Home schooling of foster child.
A foster parent may teach a foster child
at home as provided in Sections 59-65-40, 59-65-45, or any other provision of
law, if, in addition to any other requirements, home schooling of the child has
been approved by the Department of Social Services or other agency having
custody of the child.
59-65-47. Alternative homeschooling requirements
Section 59-65-47. In
lieu of the requirements of Section 59-65-40 or Section 59-65-45, parents or
guardians may teach their children at home if the instruction is conducted
under the auspices of an association for homeschools which has no fewer than
fifty members and meets the requirements of this section. Bona fide
membership and continuing compliance with the academic standards of the
associations exempts the home school from the further requirements of
Section 59-65-40 or Section 59-65-45.
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:
(a) a parent must
hold at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general
educational development (GED) certificate;
(b) the
instructional year is at least one hundred eighty days;
(c) 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; and
(d) educational
records shall be maintained by the parent-teacher and include:
(1) a plan
book, diary, or other record indicating subjects taught and
activities in which the student and parent-teacher engage;
(2) a
portfolio of samples of the student's academic work; and
(3) 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.
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.
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