South Carolina homeschool law for high school: graduation, diploma and records

S.C. Code § 59-65-10 requires regular attendance at a public or private school or other approved program, and §§ 59-65-40, 59-65-45 and 59-65-47 set three home schooling options. The Department of Education reviews the Option 2 and Option 3 association standards each year but states that it does not accredit, endorse or monitor home schools.

S.C. Code §§ 59-65-10, 59-65-40, 59-65-45, 59-65-47; SCDE, Frequently Asked Home School Questions

The law as of September 29, 2026.

South Carolina at a glance

As of September 29, 2026

Notice to the state: Depends on the option
Option 1: the parent must apply to and be approved by the district board of trustees, whose application process asks for a description of the program, texts and materials, methods of program evaluation and place of instruction; a denial may be appealed to the State Board of Education within 10 days. Options 2 and 3: the parent joins the association, and each association reports the number and grade level of its home-schooled children to their school districts by January 30 each year.S.C. Code § 59-65-40(B), (E); S.C. Code §§ 59-65-45, 59-65-47
Records the law asks for: Depends on the option
Option 1: the parent maintains a plan book, diary or other written record of subjects taught and activities, a portfolio of academic work samples, and a record of evaluations of academic progress, available for district inspection on reasonable notice, and submits a semiannual progress report with attendance records and individualized assessments in each basic subject to the district. Option 3: the parent-teacher maintains a plan book or similar record, a portfolio, and a semiannual progress report with attendance and progress documentation; the statute does not require submitting them. Option 2: records follow SCAIHS policy; the SCDE FAQ says the parent-teacher is responsible for maintaining educational records.S.C. Code § 59-65-40(A)(4); S.C. Code § 59-65-47(d); SCDE, Frequently Asked Home School Questions
Testing or evaluation: Depends on the option
Option 1: students must take the annual statewide testing program and the Basic Skills Assessment Program for their grade, given by a certified district employee (at the school or, at the parent's option and expense, at the place of instruction), and a first-grade readiness test; a score below the public school promotion standard for one year lets the board decide on placement, special services or home schooling with instructional support at parental expense. Options 2 and 3: the statute sets no testing requirement, and SCDE says students not in district-approved programs are not eligible to take those state assessments.S.C. Code § 59-65-40(A)(6), (C), (D); SCDE, Frequently Asked Home School Questions
Graduation requirements: None set by the state
South Carolina law sets no graduation or credit requirements for home school students under any option. SCDE says home-schooled students in grades 7 to 12 receive credits from their home school programs, shown on the transcript maintained by the parent or the association, and that those credits are not automatically accepted by other public or private schools.SCDE, Frequently Asked Home School Questions
Diploma: Issued by: parent, or in some cases the home school association
SCDE's FAQ states there is no 'official' home school diploma: home school diplomas are issued by the parent or, in some cases, the home school association. Only accredited public South Carolina high schools issue a South Carolina high school diploma.SCDE, Frequently Asked Home School Questions
Compulsory school ages: From the school year in which the child turns five before September 1 until the child's seventeenth birthday or high school graduation; a parent whose child is not six by September 1 may sign a written election with the district for the child not to attend kindergarten.S.C. Code § 59-65-10(A)

The legal options for homeschooling in South Carolina

Option 1: home schooling approved by the district board of trusteesThe parent applies to the district board of trustees, which shall approve a program in which the parent holds at least a high school diploma or GED (the statute also refers to a basic skills examination) or a bachelor's degree, instruction runs at least 4.5 hours a day for 180 days, the required subjects are taught, records are kept, the student has library access and takes the annual statewide tests, and the parent signs a hold-harmless agreement. Basis: statuteS.C. Code § 59-65-40
Option 2: South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools (SCAIHS)Bona fide membership in SCAIHS and continuing compliance with its academic standards exempt the home school from § 59-65-40; state law requires SCAIHS standards to include at least a parent with a high school diploma or GED, a 180-day year, and reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies, plus composition and literature in grades 7 through 12. Basis: statuteS.C. Code § 59-65-45
Option 3: home school association with at least 50 membersBona fide membership in an association for home schools with no fewer than fifty members, and continuing compliance with its academic standards, exempt the home school from §§ 59-65-40 and 59-65-45; the association's standards must include the same parent, 180-day and subject minimums as Option 2 plus parent-maintained records. Basis: statuteS.C. Code § 59-65-47

What South Carolina law means for your transcript

No South Carolina law defines a home school credit, and SCDE says parent or association credits are not automatically accepted by other schools, so conventions such as the 120-hour Carnegie unit are practice.
Under Options 2 and 3 the association may keep the transcript and issue the diploma (SCDE FAQ), so confirming with your association who issues the transcript is practice.
The LIFE Scholarship statute measures a cumulative grade average on a 4.0 scale (S.C. Code § 59-149-50(A)(1)); showing a 4.0-scale cumulative GPA on the transcript is practice, since no statute says how a home school computes it.
Option 1 semiannual progress reports with attendance go to the district under S.C. Code § 59-65-40(A)(4)(c) and are separate from the high school transcript.

College admission and state aid for South Carolina homeschoolers

A home school student who has successfully completed a high school home school program in South Carolina 'in the manner required by law' is an eligible category for the LIFE Scholarship and the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship. For LIFE the student also needs a 3.0 cumulative grade average on a 4.0 scale and, for a four-year institution, an SAT of 1100 or ACT equivalent, and the Commission on Higher Education may define alternative criteria for home school students in place of the top-30-percent class rank criterion.S.C. Code § 59-149-50(A)(1), (D); S.C. Code § 59-104-20

Recent changes to South Carolina homeschool law

No change to §§ 59-65-40, 59-65-45 or 59-65-47 was found for 2023 to 2026. H. 3802 (passed the House in May 2025) and its companion S. 421 would amend § 59-63-100 to add cocurricular, extracurricular and career and technical education access for home school students and bar districts from adding requirements beyond §§ 59-65-40, 59-65-45 and 59-65-47; both are in the Senate Committee on Education and are not law.

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What we could not confirm

These points could not be checked against the statute or regulation text, so treat them with care:

HSLDA states that the basic skills examination referred to in § 59-65-40(A)(1)(a) for Option 1 parents was struck down by the South Carolina Supreme Court; we could not open the decision to confirm.
We did not open SCAIHS's own standards; Option 2 record-keeping and testing follow SCAIHS policy.
We did not open the Commission on Higher Education regulations that set any alternative LIFE criteria for home school students.

Sources

General information about South Carolina law as of September 29, 2026, not legal advice. Laws change, so check the statute before you rely on it. Found an error? Email [email protected].