|
| |
3rd Option Home School Law
Note:
Nothing we say or post is intended to be legal advice and is distributed for the
informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, and does not constitute
the giving of legal advice. For more information about the laws and regulations
in this state please contact your own attorney.
|
[Note:
Home
visits
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.] SC ST SEC 59-65-47
homeschools do not have to allow or provide any public official any
information about their homeschool without a legal court order.
|
3rd Option Home School Law:
Associations for home schools; requirements.
|
| SC ST SEC
59-65-47 |
| (a) |
a parent must hold at least a high school diploma
or
the equivalent general educational development (GED) certificate;
[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skills examination or (b) obtaining a baccalaureate degree was repealed.
The requirement that a parent who provides a home
schooling program to his or her child must pass the basic skills examination (EEE)
is unenforceable, since the process for validating the examination failed to
meet the standard of reasonableness where the EEE did not test teaching ability,
the panel who evaluated each item of the EEE for task relatedness and bias were
not given a description of successful home schooling, and the scores given the
examination by those who were home schooled versus those who were not was
substantially different. Lawrence v South Carolina State Board of Education
(1991, SC).]
|
|
(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
[Note:
Use of a correspondence courses does not, alone, constitute
a school under compulsory school attendance laws. 1989 Op Atty Gen, No 84-12. p. 42.]
[Note: Standardized Testing
Not required for home schools operating under South Carolina
Code of law §59-65-47. SC ST SEC §59-65-47
exempts
the home school from the further requirements of Section 59-65-40 or
Section 59-65-45.
[Note: There
are no set hours to homeschool! You
do not have to homeschool 4 hours a day. You
may homeschool in the morning, afternoon,
or evening if you so choose. You are only required to
teach 180 days, within the association school year time frame, the
mandated subjects of SC ST SEC §59-65-47.
You alone determine what method, style and curriculum you choose to use,
with the one exception of the
1989 Op Atty Gen, No 84-12. p. 42. -
Use of a correspondence courses does not, alone, constitute
a school under compulsory school
attendance laws.
. SC
ST SEC §59-65-47 exempts
the home school from the further requirements of Section 59-65-40 or
Section 59-65-45.
|
|
(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. (You do NOT have to or need to provide any school
district with any paperwork from your home school association.) SC
ST SEC §59-65-47 exempts
the home school from the further requirements of Section 59-65-40 or
Section 59-65-45. |
|
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.
[Note:
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 State Department of Education shall conduct annually a review of the
association standards to ensure that requirements of the association, at a
minimum, include: all the above
[Note: HOME SCHOOLS (ANY PARENT or LEGAL GUARDIAN FOR THAT MATTER) do not have to
have ANY association paperwork to obtain a copy of your child (ren) educational
records. South Carolina Code of Law Section 20-7-100: Rights and duties
of parents in regard to their minor children. [SC ST SEC 20-7-100]
"Each parent, whether the custodial or non custodial parent of the child,
has equal access and the same right to obtain
"all educational
records and medical
records of
their minor children" and the
right to participate in their children's school activities unless prohibited by
order of the court.
[Note: SOUTH
CAROLINA RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT
SECTION
1-32-10. Short title. [SC ST SEC 1-32-10]
and the actual law is located Click
Here]
[Note:
Title
30. PUBLIC RECORDS Chapter 2. FAMILY PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF 2002 SECTION
30-2-20.]
Note: Immunizations:
You may invoke your right of
"Religious ExemptionFurther,
per an email from the CDC: Immunizations are only "Recommendations,
which are not mandated under law." It is noteworthy that
money is paid to every school district, to the tune of $100.00 per
student, whom enrolls in public school and have provided proof of
current immunization to said school, upon enrollment, last we
checked. (That
equals $100.00 x the number of enrolled and immunized child in every
public school! )
Q. Do home schools have to obtain immunizations?
A. DHEC Regulation 61-8, upon which the
immunization reporting is based, applies to the admission of a child “to any
public, private, or parochial school . . . or any child development program
under the control of the Department of Education. . . . ” Section 59-65-45
and Section 59-65-47 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, are neither
schools nor child development programs. They do not admit students, so they
need not comply with the regulation requiring
schools to receive a Certificate of Immunization from students
prior to admittance. Students do not enroll in or attend
a home school association but are enrolled in and attend their family’s home school.
It is also noteworthy that local school
districts in South Carolina do not include home schooling families in their
immunization reports to DHEC. Under Section 59-65-40 of the Code, these
families obtain the approval of the local district for their home
schooling program. But these students are not enrolled in or admitted to the
public school and therefore do not present a Certificate of Immunization to the school.
There are also practical considerations for not
including home schools in the immunization reporting requirements.
Communicable diseases are typically transmitted in a classroom or playground setting when students from different families come into contact
with each other. Since only family members are present in the home school, the
same potential for transmission of these diseases does not exist.
State law requires Section 59-65-45 and Section
59-65-47 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina home school associations to
report the number and grade level of children home schooled through their associations to the children’s respective school
districts by January 30 of each year. Beyond this, there are no requirements
for any home school association to disclose additional information about its member families.
From: HSLDA-Home
School Legal Defense
|
Home schooling of foster
child.
|
|
|
|
Note: Foster parents may home school a 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.
|
| All children five years of age
before September first until the child or ward attains his seventeenth
birthday or graduates from high school are required to attend public,
private, or home school.
EXCEPTION: 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.
However, if 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 elects for their child
or ward to legally home school for kindergarten, the parent or guardian
DOES NOT need to notify any school district and DOES NOT need to sign any
written document with the governing body of the school district in which
the parent or guardian resides. |
SECTION 59-65-10.
Responsibility of parent or guardian; notification by school district of
availability of kindergarten; transportation for kindergarten pupils. [SC
ST SEC 59-65-10]
(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. [SC ST SEC 59-65-20] |
| 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. |
| SECTION
59-65-30. Exceptions. [SC ST SEC 59-65-30] |
The provisions of this article do not apply
to:
(a) A child who has been graduated from high school or has received the
equivalent of a high school education from a school approved by the State
Board of Education, or member school of South Carolina Independent
Schools' Association, or a private school in existence at the time of the
passage of this article;
(b) A child who obtains a certificate from a
psychologist certified by the State Department of Education or from a
licensed physician stating that he is unable to attend school because of a
physical or mental disability, provided there are no suitable special
classes available for such child in the school district where he resides;
(c) A child who has completed the eighth grade and who is determined by
the court to be legally and gainfully employed whose employment is further
determined by such court to be necessary for the maintenance of his home;
(d) [Reserved]
(e) A student who has a child and who is granted a temporary waiver from
attendance by the district's attendance supervisor or his designee. The
district attendance supervisor may grant a temporary waiver only if he
determines that suitable day care is unavailable. The student must consult
with the district supervisor or his designee in a timely manner to
consider all available day care options or the district shall consider the
student to be in violation of this chapter.
(f) A child who has reached the age of sixteen years and
whose further attendance in school, vocational school, or available
special classes is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be
disruptive to the educational program of the school, unproductive of
further learning, or not in the best interest of the child, and who is
authorized by the court to enter into suitable gainful employment under
the supervision of the court until age seventeen is attained. However,
prior to being exempted from the provisions of this article, the court may
first require that the child concerned be examined physically and tested
mentally to assist the court to determine whether or not gainful
employment would be more suitable for the child than continued attendance
in school. The examination and testing must be conducted by the Department
of Youth Services or by any local agency which the court determines to be
appropriate. The court shall revoke the exemption provided in this item
upon a finding that the child fails to continue in his employment until
reaching the age of seventeen years. |
| |
|
Homeschool
Legal
