South Carolina homeschool requirements
Track your South Carolina homeschool requirements without spreadsheets
Homeschool Fox helps you understand South Carolina's requirements, log activities, track progress, and generate records when you need them.
South Carolina at a glance
Verified May 2026- Required hours
- 810 hrs/year
- School days
- 180 days/year
- Required subjects
- 6 subjects
- Notice
- Required
- Testing / evaluation
- Portfolio review
- Portfolio
- Required
Jump to the full South Carolina requirements for plain-English detail on each of these.
Free tool
Calculate your homeschool pace
South Carolina requires 810 hours/year. Enter how far you've come and we'll show you the daily pace to finish on time.
Leave at 0 if you haven't started tracking yet.
Add your school year end date to see your pace.
—
left
—
per week
—
per day
We'll set up your dashboard with South Carolina's tracking targets. No credit card required.
What Homeschool Fox tracks for South Carolina
Everything South Carolina expects you to keep, in one place — no spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.
- Hours toward your 810-hour goal
- Required subjects & core hours
- Daily activity logs
- Attendance records
- Notes & portfolio records
- Printable PDF reports
- High school transcripts
- State-specific progress tracking
See it work
Log a homeschool day in seconds
Type or speak what you did in plain English. Homeschool Fox sorts it into subjects, adds up the time, and updates your South Carolina progress automatically.
You write
Homeschool Fox logs
- Reading 45 min
- Math 30 min
- History / Social Studies 20 min
Today's total
1 hr 35 min
Your South Carolina requirements, in plain English
Tap any item for the details.
Notice requirements
Required
Required hours
810 hrs/yr
Required subjects
6 subjects
Testing / evaluation
Required
Recordkeeping & portfolio
Portfolio required
Withdrawing from public school
Letter + notice
Full guide
Homeschooling in South Carolina: the complete guide
Homeschooling in South Carolina sits squarely in the middle of the country's regulatory spectrum. Families have real freedom to teach how they see fit, but the state does ask for paperwork and proof of progress along the way. Because the compulsory attendance age in South Carolina runs from 5-17, families plan their homeschool schedule around that window.
Families homeschooling in South Carolina plan around a paired daily-and-yearly minimum: 4.5 hours per teaching day, across at least 180 days per year. The state doesn't dictate what counts as a teaching day, so families are free to blend direct instruction with reading, outings, and hands-on work, and all roads lead to the 810-ish hour mark.
Before instruction begins, or promptly at the start of each school year, families in South Carolina submit a notice of intent to your local school district. Local districts have some latitude in exactly what they want included, but a simple letter naming each student, their grade, and the intent to homeschool is usually enough.
The South Carolina assessment requirement (portfolio review annually) is usually straightforward to plan around, especially if families track activities consistently through the year. Portfolio records are a core part of the South Carolina homeschool year. Families keep samples of work, a log of activities, and evidence of instruction in required subjects, reviewed by a certified teacher or evaluator.
South Carolina expects instruction in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and composition. How those subjects show up day-to-day is entirely a family's call. The record-keeping side of homeschooling doesn't need to dominate South Carolina families' evenings. Homeschool Fox lets you log activities as they happen, then builds the compliance picture on its own.
Notice requirements
Notice is required
You must notify your local school district of your intent to homeschool.
Need a head start? Use the free Notice of Intent generator to draft a South Carolina-ready letter.
Deeper guides: how to write a notice of intent to homeschool covers the language admins look for, and when and where to file your notice of intent covers state-by-state deadlines and recipients.
Generate your notice of intentWithdrawing from public school
South Carolina has no statewide homeschool registration; you join one of the three accountability options instead, and the option you pick handles your records. If your child is enrolled in public school, notify the school in writing once you've joined Option 1 (district), Option 2 (SCAIHS), or Option 3 (an approved association), so attendance records reflect the transfer. Keep your membership confirmation and a copy of the withdrawal notice.
For the play-by-play, how to withdraw your child from public school walks through the conversation, the timing, and the paperwork. What to send the district when you pull your child covers exactly what the letter should and shouldn't say.
Assessment requirements
Assessment is required
- Type:
- Portfolio review
- Frequency:
- Annually
Standardized testing for homeschoolers walks through which test to choose, where to register, and how to prep. If South Carolina lets you choose between portfolio review and a test, homeschool portfolio reviews vs standardized tests covers when each option is the better call.
Portfolio & records
Portfolio is required
Option 1 and Option 3 families keep a portfolio including a semester book list, a log of educational activities, samples of the student's academic work, and a record of evaluations (§ 59-65-40(A)(4) and § 59-65-47(d)). Option 2 families follow SCAIHS's own member documentation requirements rather than a state-level portfolio rule.
Building a high-school transcript? Start with our free transcript template. Homeschool portfolio reviews vs standardized tests covers what evaluators actually look at and how to curate samples without drowning in worksheets.
Required subjects
South Carolina requires instruction in the following subjects.
Looking for curriculum?
Browse our curriculum directory to find the right fit for your family, then track your hours with Homeschool Fox to stay compliant with South Carolina's requirements.
School choice & ESA
Not open to independent homeschoolersProgram
Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF)
Who qualifies and what you give up
South Carolina's Education Scholarship Trust Fund pays roughly $7,634 per student per year (2026-27), but participation is statutorily incompatible with homeschooling. The ESTF Act explicitly bars families from receiving funds while operating under any of South Carolina's three homeschool accountability options (§ 59-65-40 district, § 59-65-45 SCAIHS, § 59-65-47 association). Recipients must instead either (a) attend a participating private school or (b) educate at home under a separate ESTF-only "educate from home" track that is legally distinct from homeschooling.
For a South Carolina homeschool family this means there's no way to keep your existing Option 1/2/3 status and take the funds. To participate you'd have to drop out of your accountability option and switch into the ESTF-only track or private-school enrollment, picking up state-mandated testing, vendor approval, and program reporting. Funding is also capped (15,000-student cap reached for 2026-27 and applications already closed). For most homeschool families, SC's existing accountability options remain a better fit than abandoning them for ESTF participation.
Deeper guides: homeschool ESAs explained — which states offer them in 2026 covers eligibility and the trade-offs you sign up for. How to use an ESA for homeschool curriculum walks through what's reimbursable and where families get stuck.
Umbrella schools
South Carolina is unusual: the law itself organizes homeschoolers around umbrella-style accountability associations. Option 2 (§ 59-65-45) routes families through SCAIHS — the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools, the original statutory accountability association from the 1990s. Option 3 (§ 59-65-47) lets families enroll in any approved third-party association with 50+ members. Both options replace district-level oversight with association-level oversight, and the vast majority of South Carolina homeschoolers operate under Option 2 or Option 3 rather than Option 1.
Day to day you still teach your own child and pick your own curriculum. What changes is who tracks attendance, holds your records, and certifies your annual evaluation: the association does, and the association — not you — handles the state-level paperwork. Each association sets its own enrollment fee, evaluation method (portfolio review, narrative, or test of its choosing), record-submission cadence, and high-school transcript services. Option 2 (SCAIHS) and Option 3 associations differ in price and rigor, so families typically shop a few before joining. Either way, the trade is straightforward: pay an annual fee, hand off the paperwork, escape district-level reporting and the standardized test that Option 1 requires.
Additional notes
Annual assessment required. Three accountability options: Option 1 (district), Option 2 (SCAIHS), Option 3 (association with 50+ members). Portfolio required under Options 1 and 3.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to notify anyone to homeschool in South Carolina?
How many hours do I need to homeschool in South Carolina?
Does South Carolina require testing for homeschoolers?
Do I need to keep a portfolio in South Carolina?
What subjects must I teach in South Carolina?
Nearby states
View all statesWant the cross-state comparison? Homeschool laws by state covers the legal regime in every state side by side.
Free South Carolina printables
Two ready-to-use PDFs for South Carolina homeschoolers. No account needed.
Templates, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule with your state or district.
Reviewed and sourced
Last verified: May 2026. We review South Carolina's requirements against official sources and update this page when the rules change.
Sources
Homeschool Fox is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. We turn public homeschool requirements into practical tracking tools for families. Always confirm details with your state or a qualified advisor.
More South Carolina guides
- How to Start Homeschooling in South Carolina A step-by-step guide from withdrawal to your first logged day.
- Homeschooling High School in South Carolina Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
- Record Keeping in South Carolina What to document, how to organize it, and staying compliant.
- ESA & School Choice in South Carolina Funding amounts, who qualifies, and the trade-offs.
Ready to track your homeschool requirements?
Set up your South Carolina-specific dashboard, log your first activity, and see your progress.
Start tracking free14-day free trial. No credit card required.