District: JROTC is Free—Except for Homeschool Students. HSLDA: See You in Court.

HSLDA recently helped a South Carolina member family recover $1,500 they had paid under protest. The school district told them that in order for their son to participate in the local public school’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program, the fee was mandatory.

HSLDA’s advocacy for homeschool freedom is frequently possible only through families willing to stand up for their rights. However, opposing a specific instance of injustice for one family often requires further legislative reform for the application to extend to all families—such as the bill we’re currently promoting in the South Carolina Statehouse to expand sports and extracurricular access for homeschool students.

The conflict arose in 2023 when Katherine Sharp signed up her son Nathan for JROTC summer camp, mostly to provide her teen with an alternative form of physical education.

Nathan enjoyed the experience, and because he’s interested in pursuing a military career, continuing with JROTC seemed like a wise pursuit.

Unexpected obstacle

But when Katherine registered her son to participate during the fall semester, officials at the local public high school objected. They refused to enroll Nathan, arguing that because JROTC is an academic class as well as an extracurricular activity, the South Carolina law guaranteeing homeschool students access to public school sports did not apply.

When Katherine showed officials a copy of the 2020 amendments to federal law guaranteeing homeschool students access to JROTC (amendments that HSLDA drafted, advocated for, and helped pass into law), officials changed their stance. They said they would allow Nathan to join the program, but only if his parents paid $500 each semester he participated.

JROTC offers both educational and career opportunities. The curriculum includes leadership principles, military customs, and civic responsibility, and participation allows an enlisted recruit to enter military service at a higher rank and pay grade than those without experience in JROTC. Katherine and Nathan agreed that the program would be a valuable use of his time in high school. So, Katherine paid the fee.

She also contacted HSLDA.

“It was the principle of it,” Katherine said, explaining why she asked our attorneys to intervene. She added that making homeschool families pay a participation fee felt like illegal discrimination. “We live in the district and pay taxes like everyone else,” she noted.

Closer look at the law

We quickly contacted the district to affirm that officials were misconstruing federal and state law.

“We said federal law is clear that homeschool students can participate in JROTC, and that state law says they don’t have to pay,” explained HSLDA Senior Counsel Will Estrada. “But the district refused to back down.”

“Since the passage of a state act in 2012,” Estrada continued, “South Carolina homeschool students have been able to participate in certain public school extracurricular activities. However, we’re still running into issues where local school districts or interscholastic leagues turn away homeschool students or otherwise try to use vague sections of current law to discriminate against them.”

Then, early this year, HSLDA notified the district we would be pursuing this issue in court. Soon afterward, school officials refunded three semesters worth of fees to the Sharp family.

Katherine hopes her family’s victory sets a precedent for others who wish to participate in JROTC.

“I wanted to make sure other homeschooling families don’t have to go through this,” she said.

Statehouse solution

HSLDA is working with state homeschool organizations to help ensure that access to JROTC and other public school activities aren’t curtailed by local policies. Together, we’re asking homeschool advocates to support House Bill 3802, which is currently being considered in the state legislature.

If H.B. 3802 passes, homeschool students will have expanded opportunities to participate (if they wish to do so) in public school sports, career and technical education, and extracurricular activities—without having to pay.