In South Carolina, Parents or guardians may choose to homeschool their children instead of enrolling them in a public, private, or parochial school. South Carolina statutes provides three different options for homeschooling. 

​

• Option One allows the parents to homeschool their children under the auspice of a school district, if approved by the board of trustees.

​

• Option Two allows the parents to homeschool their children with the support of the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools.

​

• Option Three allows the parents to choose a homeschool association which has no fewer than fifty members and meets the homeschool requirements. The parents or guardians select the particular homeschooling option that is best for the children.

​

In lieu of the requirements of Section 59-65-40, families may teach their child(ren) 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 Dudley Homeschool Consortium is a South Carolina Option Three accountability association for home schools, per S.C. Section 59-65-47. The Option Three Homeschool Law mandates home educators record “a semi-annual progress report including attendance records and individualized documentation of the student’s academic progress,” (South Carolina Code of Laws SECTION 59-65-47). Further, the law mandates that:

​

•  a parent must hold at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general educational development (GED) certificate;

• the instructional year is at least one hundred 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; and

• 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;

  • a portfolio of samples of the student's academic work; and

  • 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.

​

For more information about homeschooling in South Carolina, visit the South Carolina Department of Education or South Carolina Homeschooling Connection!