South Carolina
Harmful legislation stopped
As a result of an outpouring of opposition by home educators at a legislative hearing on May 8, 2002, a subcommittee of the Senate Education Committee voted 5-0 to table House Bill 3364, effectively killing this bill for the current legislative session. Home School Legal Defense Association believed that this bill could have prevented home school graduates from being admitted to college, getting a job with a state agency, receiving a license to practice a vocation, and accessing other important life opportunities. An estimated 750 home schoolers turned out for the hearing, and speakers from the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools (SCAIHS), the South Carolina Home Educators Association (SCHEA), HSLDA, and other organizations testified against the bill.
While H.B. 3364's sponsors asserted that it was only intended to require state-approved high school diplomas earned through correspondence programs, the language of the bill was unclear and ambiguous to the point that it was subject to various interpretations. Even if the bill only applied to correspondence programs, many home schooling families in South Carolina are enrolled in academically-sound correspondence programs which would not have met the overly stringent requirements in the bill.
SCAIHS, SCHEA, and HSLDA sent email alerts to their members urging them to attend the hearing. We want to thank all the home schooling leaders and families in South Carolina who contacted legislators and attended the hearing to oppose this bill.
— Dewitt T. Black
