South Carolina
Legality Challenged
The Department of Social Services (DSS) received a report that the daughter of a Home School Legal Defense Association member family in Newberry County was below grade level in her academic achievement. DSS contacted the family and asked them to demonstrate from their records that their child was receiving instruction at a grade level commensurate with her age.
HSLDA advised the social worker that the family was conducting a home school program under the auspices of an association for home schools having at least 50 members in accordance with § 59-65-47 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina. This statute does not prescribe any particular standards for academic achievement which home school students are required to attain. Parents are required to teach certain basic instructional areas for at least 180 days during the school year and are required to maintain educational records of the instruction and the student’s progress. However, parents are free to determine the grade placement of their children based upon academic performance.
After receiving this information from HSLDA and verifying the family’s membership in the home school association, DSS made no further inquiries of the family’s educational program. — Dewitt T. Black
