HSLDA recently asked state education officials to intervene after a local school district sought homeschool student information they are not entitled to.

District Five recently emailed several associations that serve homeschool families in Lexington and Richland counties, requesting that the associations provide public school officials with a list of students’ names and addresses.

This “request” is without any legal authority. As homeschooling parents, you know that S.C. Code § 59-65-45 allows families to homeschool under the auspices of SCAIHS, and S.C. Code § 59-65-47 allows families to homeschool under the auspices of “an association for home schools which has no fewer than fifty members and meets the requirements” of South Carolina law.

You can review HSLDA’s summary of South Carolina’s homeschool laws here.

Beyond the Law

While SCAIHS and 50-member associations are subject to annual reviews by the South Carolina Department of Education, and are required to “report the number and grade level of children home schooled through the association to the children's respective school districts[,]” there are no other reporting requirements to the government. Nowhere in South Carolina law is there any requirement that associations provide a school district with the names and addresses of homeschool students.

The homeschool associations that received this “request” from District Five have respectfully declined to provide such information. We are pleased to report that, at least at the moment, District Five has not pushed the issue.

However, we take such contacts from school districts, even when framed as “requests,” very seriously. We have reached out to staff at District Five and have also asked the South Carolina Department of Education to review this issue and provide technical assistance  to remind the district of what South Carolina’s homeschool law says.

HSLDA vigorously defends homeschool freedom. We are being especially vigilant in light of recent debates regarding homeschooling in the South Carolina legislature, as well as threats rising against homeschool freedom in other states.

We will update you on what we hear from District Five and the South Carolina Department of Education.