|
|
| |
South Carolina
Homeschool Laws
Title 59 - Education
CHAPTER 65.
ATTENDANCE OF PUPILS
ARTICLE 1.
COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE
SECTION 59-65-40.
Home schooling 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 home
schooling 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 or
(b) has earned a baccalaureate degree;
(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 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 home school 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 home schooling 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 the 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 with a parent's right to exempt
his child from kindergarten as provided in
Section 59-65-10(A).
(D) Should a student in a home schooling 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 home schooling 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 home schooling 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.
SECTION 59-65-45.
Alternative home schooling 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 home school 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 one hundred
eighty days; and
(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.
By January thirtieth of each year, the South Carolina
Association of Independent Home Schools shall report the
number and grade level of children home schooled 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.
SECTION 59-65-47.
Associations for home schools; requirements.
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 home schools 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 ensure 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.
[Kindergarten waiver]
SECTION 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 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.
(B) 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.
SECTION 59-65-20.
Penalty for failure to enroll or cause child to
attend school.
Any parent or guardian who neglects to enroll his child
or ward or refuses to make such child or ward attend
school shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than
fifty dollars or be imprisoned not more than thirty
days; each day's absence shall constitute a separate
offense; provided, the court may in its discretion
suspend the sentence of anyone convicted of the
provisions of this article.
Disclaimer: Statutory data current through the 2004
Regular Session of the South Carolina General Assembly.
View the entire state law...
|
|
|
|
