Everywhere else in this series the law is singular. One statute says what a family owes, and the only choice left is how to satisfy it. South Carolina wrote three, and lets you pick which one governs your household.
instruction is conducted under the auspices of an association for home schools which has no fewer than fifty members
S.C. Code 59-65-47
Read that once more. The qualification is not about your household. It is about how many members the association has. South Carolina made an association’s headcount the thing that confers standing, and nothing else in this series works that way.
The three are 59-65-40, approval by the district board of trustees; 59-65-45, membership in the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools, the only organization the section authorizes; and 59-65-47, the association route above, reviewed annually by the state department of education.
They are not equally demanding
This is the sentence the rest of the page is built on, and a page that let you believe otherwise would be doing you no favours. The three routes are not three doors into the same room.
The clearest difference is a test.
Under 59-65-40 the student takes part in the annual statewide testing program, administered by a certified school district employee, either alongside public school students or by arrangement at the place of instruction. Under 59-65-47 there is no statewide testing requirement. Same child, same house, same year. What changed is which statute the family lives under.
What each route asks for
Two things are common to the first and third routes: whoever teaches must hold at least a high school diploma or the equivalent GED certificate, and the instructional year is at least 180 days. The subjects are the same as well: reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies, and in grades seven through twelve, composition and literature.
After that they part company.
| Route | Who says yes | What is added |
|---|---|---|
| 59-65-40 | Your district board of trustees | An instructional day of at least four and one-half hours excluding lunch and recesses, a plan book or diary, a portfolio, and the annual statewide testing program |
| 59-65-45 | The South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools | The association’s own membership terms, in place of district approval |
| 59-65-47 | An association with no fewer than fifty members | A plan book or diary, a portfolio, and a semi-annual progress report with attendance and individualized documentation of progress in each basic area. No statewide testing. |
The semi-annual progress report is the part families under the third route most often meet late. It is not a form the state sends you. It is something you write, twice a year, and keep.
Where South Carolina sits in the series
Maryland is the near miss, and worth naming so the difference is clear. Maryland lets a family choose their REVIEWER, the district or an umbrella, and both roads end with somebody looking through a portfolio. South Carolina lets a family choose their STATUTE, and the statutes ask for different things.
| State | What the state asks for | How many laws |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland | A portfolio, or an umbrella | One, two ways to satisfy it |
| Missouri | Hours and a log | One |
| Nevada | A plan nobody may reject | One |
| New Hampshire | A declaration, on withdrawal only | One |
| New Mexico | A notice, and an affirmation | One |
| Oklahoma | Nothing at all | A constitution |
| Oregon | One notice, then four tests | One |
| South Carolina | Depends which one you pick | Three |
Working out which South Carolina route fits?
Fifteen minutes on the phone covers the withdrawal letter, what each of the three sections actually asks for, and the records to start keeping on day one. No records required to have the conversation, and deciding against it costs nothing.
What leaving actually requires
- Pick your route before you send anything
Which section you are under decides who you notify and what you keep. Choosing after the withdrawal letter is the order that causes trouble, because the letter is where you say what comes next. - A withdrawal letter to the school, in writing
Name the last day of attendance and deliver it so receipt can be shown. The school keeps your child on its roll until somebody tells it otherwise, and an unexplained empty seat is what starts a truancy call. - Approval, or membership, in hand
Under 59-65-40 that is the district board of trustees. Under 59-65-45 or 59-65-47 it is an accepted membership. Have it settled before the last day rather than after. - The records the route names, started on day one
A plan book or diary and a portfolio under either the first or third route, and under the third route the semi-annual progress report as well. Reconstructing a portfolio in June is the avoidable version of this. - A calendar that reaches 180 days
Common to the first and third routes, and easier to plan in August than to prove in May. - The transcript and immunization records
Ask for both in the withdrawal letter, along with course descriptions for anything half finished. Schools release them readily while the student is fresh in mind and slowly a year later.
Doing it in order
Read all three sections, then choose
They are short and they are on one page at the state legislature’s site. Fifteen minutes reading them yourself is worth more than any summary, this one included.
Secure the approval or the membership
District board approval under the first route takes as long as your district’s meeting calendar takes, which is the single most common reason a family’s timing slips. Association membership is usually quicker. Start here.
Pick the last day and the first day
The last day at the public school and the first day of instruction at home, ideally adjacent, so the student is never marked absent and never off every roll at once.
Send the withdrawal letter so receipt can be shown
Email the principal and the registrar together; the reply is your proof. Ask in the same letter for the transcript, immunization records, and course descriptions for anything in progress.
Open the records on the first day of instruction
The plan book and the portfolio are cumulative by design. They are five minutes a week from the start and a bad weekend if left to the end.
The withdrawal letter, ready to send
Short is correct. This goes to the school your child attends now, addressed to the principal and copied to the registrar. Name the section you are proceeding under, because that is the question the office will have.
Dear Principal [name],
This letter is formal notice that our child, [student full name], date of birth [DOB], currently in grade [grade], is withdrawn from [school] effective [last day of attendance]. Beginning [start date], [he/she/they] will be educated at home under S.C. Code Section [59-65-40 / 59-65-45 / 59-65-47].
Please update your enrollment records accordingly and confirm receipt of this letter by reply. Please also send a complete transcript, immunization records, and course descriptions for any course in progress to [address / email].
Thank you for your help.
[Your name]
[Address]
[Telephone]
What we can and cannot tell you
High School of America is an accredited private school based in Florida, not a South Carolina school. This page has named the three sections, quoted the fifty member clause, set out what each route asks for, and said plainly that the routes are not equally demanding. What it will not do is tell you which section to choose, or suggest that enrolling here satisfies any of them. That choice belongs to your household and the answer is not ours to give, least of all by a school that gains from your enrollment. Read the sections, ask the district or the association in writing, and keep the reply.
If you want a person to talk it through with, that is what the counselor call is for, and it is not a sales appointment. Bring whatever records you have, or none.
The three sections sit together on the legislature’s own page for title 59 chapter 65, and 59-65-40 is also at Justia. The wider picture sits on the requirements state by state, and if you are early enough to still be deciding, the three-route comparison weighs this against staying exactly where you are.