Legal/Homeschool Laws
Laws that regulate home education vary from state to state. It is important to understand the legal requirements in your state and to be aware of legislative and other legal issues that affect homeschoolers in your community. We've compiled resources that will help you become informed. Although homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, and the vast majority of homeschoolers face no problems, you may find that you need legal assistance at some point in your homeschooling career. We've compiled a list of resources to help you find the support you need. And if you'd like to become more involved in working towards homeschooling freedoms, we discuss some of the issues facing homeschoolers that we hope you find compelling.
State Laws
Read the laws regulating home education in South Carolina and browse through the case law and legal opinions relating to those laws, along with government publications relating to homeschooling and summaries of the laws.
Forms
Which forms do you need to fill out? Where can you get them? Here is a list of useful forms for homeschooling in South Carolina.
Legal Support
If you need legal information or have run into a legal situation regarding your decision to homeschool, these resources will be helpful.
Lobbying Groups
A listing of local and national lobbying groups and information on how you can become involved in the political process to ensure the freedom to homeschool is protected.
Attorneys
When searching for an attorney, it is helpful to know whether he or she has experience working with homeschoolers and is interested in protecting the right to homeschool.
Legal Issues
Is homeschooling legal? Which laws pertain to homeschoolers and which don't? How do homeschoolers protect their rights to freely educate their children and to preserve their privacy?
Government Resources
A listing of local and state government resources, including your state's Department of Education, school districts, and Senate and House of Representative information.
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Title 59: Education - Chapter 21 State Aid for Schools
Section 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 may be housed in one school plant, as in the case when elementary and secondary programs are housed in the same plant.
South Carolina Homeschool Laws
A chart of the three options for homeschooling in South Carolina.
Pierce v. Society of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
In Pierce v. Society of the Sisters, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "the fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments of this Union repose excludes any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the creature of the state."
Home School Laws from HSLDA
Find the laws pertaining to home education for all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Legal Options in South Carolina
South Carolina law provides three legal options for home schooling: Statutes 59-65-40, 59-65-45, and 59-65-47 of the Compulsory Attendance law. This is a summary of those options.
South Carolina Department of Education
The South Carolina Department of Education offers this website to provide information and contact information.
Title 59: Education - Chapter 65 Compulsory Attendance
Section 59-65-10. Responsibility of parent or guardian; notification by school district of availability of kindergarten; transportation for kindergarten pupils.
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 ch...
School Districts Directory
This clickable map includes all of the school districts in South Carolina.
South Carolina Home School Laws from HSLDA
The Home School Legal Defense Association provides a brief summary of the homeschooling laws in South Carolina. Includes a link to a legal analysis of laws relating to homeschooling in South Carolina.
Third Option Law & Explanations
A summary and explanation of Section 59-65-47 of the state law. 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 requiremen...
Title 59: Education - Chapter 1 General Provisions
Section 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.
Section 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 cont...
How to Suppress Homeschooling
The education establishment has realized that the socialization issue will be seen for the red herring that it is, and has searched for other means to suppress homeschooling. Two new strategies have emerged, and these pose real threats to homeschooling. The first strategy is to argue that homeschooling needs some form of accreditation. A number of reasons have been offered: it eases the transition back to the public school for those homeschoolers who go back, it is the basis for awarding a recog...
South Carolina Laws
This synopsis of the laws regulating home education is provided by the South Carolina Homeschool Network.
Printable Directory of Schools
This site allows you to customize the directory of school districts and print it in a printer friendly format.
South Carolina Home Educators Association (SCHEA)
SCHEA was formed in 1987 to support home educators in South Carolina and to perform a lead role to create legal protection for home education in South Carolina. SCHEA, working with many other concerned individuals and organizations, was instrumental in convincing the state legislature to create the first South Carolina law requiring recognition of home schooling in 1988.
Today, committed volunteer home school families from across the state continue to work through SCHEA to create opportuniti...
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Featured Resources
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