Homeschool funding & ESAs in South Carolina

Can I get paid to homeschool in South Carolina?

Not as a salary. What South Carolina offers is an education savings account: the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) puts about $7,500 per student per year into an account you spend on expenses the program approves, rather than paying you to teach. An ESA comes with conditions — what the money may be spent on, what has to be reported, and in some states whether the child is still counted as a homeschooler. The program details below set those out. Romeschool tracks and organizes what you spend, so a receipt is ready the moment a program asks for one — it never files or submits anything on your behalf. It runs the other way too: South Carolina's homeschool rules require a test or an evaluation. The reviewed rules record the cadence as: Annual (Option 1); varies (Options 2/3). The accepted options, and who administers each, are in the testing line below. Which pathway you homeschool under changes that, so read the testing line before you plan around it. If the option you choose charges a fee, plan for it.

South Carolina ESA program

What does South Carolina require of homeschoolers — and what should I plan for?

South Carolina requires a test or an evaluation. That is the part of the year a family arranges ahead of time. The reviewed rules record the cadence as: Annual (Option 1); varies (Options 2/3). Which pathway you homeschool under changes this: Option 1 (school district) — statewide testing; Options 2 and 3 (SCAIHS / association) set their own. Which options South Carolina accepts — and who administers each one — is in the testing line below, in the reviewed rules' own words. If the option you choose charges a fee, plan for it. What South Carolina asks for — notice, instruction time, testing and records — is set out below, straight from the reviewed rules.

Notice

Yes. South Carolina requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: One of three accountability bodies: the local school district board, SCAIHS, or a qualifying association (50+ members). How: Enrollment/registration with the chosen body. When: Annually, and before you begin. Option 1 needs the district board's approval first (§ 59-65-40(A), (B)); Options 2 and 3 need your membership in place. No section of Chapter 65 sets a filing date, and the widely quoted '10th day after school starts' is a membership cutoff individual associations set for themselves — the dates differ, so confirm yours with the body you choose. Families enroll with one of three accountability options annually; each has its own process and requirements. Until your option is in place the child is not in an approved program: § 59-65-10 requires regular attendance from the start of the school year and § 59-65-20 makes each day's absence a separate offense, and State Board Regulation 43-274 counts three consecutive or five total unlawful absences as truancy.

Testing or evaluation

Yes. South Carolina requires a test or another accepted form of evaluation. How often: Annual (Option 1); varies (Options 2/3). Who this applies to: Option 1 (school district) — statewide testing; Options 2 and 3 (SCAIHS / association) set their own. Accepted options: Option 1 (district): the statewide testing program (SC READY grades 3–8; SC PASS science; End-of-Course exams), administered by a certified school-district employee — not the parent and Options 2 and 3: assessment at the association's/parent's discretion (private tests), not state-administered. Option 1 requires the public-school statewide assessments (SC READY in grades 3–8, SCPASS science, end-of-course exams in high school), administered by a certified employee rather than the parent. A first-grade readiness test also applies under Option 1, given within the first fifteen instructional days of the public-school year (§ 59-65-40(C)). If an Option 1 student scores below the public-school promotion standard for one year, § 59-65-40(D) lets the district board decide the placement: public school, special services, or home schooling with an instructional support system at the parent's expense. Options 2 and 3 provide their own accountability; no state test is required.

Days and hours

South Carolina's rule: 180 instructional days under all three options. The 4.5-hour instructional day, excluding lunch and recesses, is Option 1 (the district) only — § 59-65-40(A)(2); §§ 59-65-45 and -47 set no daily hours. An association may set standards beyond that statutory floor, and it is membership in good standing that keeps an Option 2 or Option 3 family out of Option 1's rules, so follow your association's own calendar requirements.

Records

South Carolina requires these records: plan book or diary of subjects and activities, portfolio of student work, and semiannual progress reports with attendance and assessments. How long, or where they go: Maintained and made available on request. Records are kept by the parent and shown to the accountability body, not the state — with one exception: under Option 1 the semiannual progress report, with attendance records and individualized assessments in each required subject, must be submitted to the school district (§ 59-65-40(A)(4)). Option 1 adds two duties that are not records: the student must have access to library facilities (§ 59-65-40(A)(5)), and the parent must agree in writing to hold the district harmless for any educational deficiencies (§ 59-65-40(A)(7)). § 59-65-47 sets the same three records for Option 3; § 59-65-45 lists none for Option 2, so ask SCAIHS what it keeps.

Full South Carolina homeschool requirements →

Common questions about homeschool funding in South Carolina

Does South Carolina have an education savings account (ESA) for homeschoolers?

Yes. South Carolina offers the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) (about $7,500 per student per year), which independent homeschooling families can use for approved education expenses. Taking it changes the child's legal status — the note above the programs on this page says how.

How much is South Carolina's homeschool ESA worth?

Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) provides approximately $7,500 per eligible student per year. Awards and eligibility change from year to year — confirm the current amount with the program before you rely on it.

Nationwide grants

• ACT Today! Grant · Autism Care Today
  For U.S. families of a child with an autism diagnosis (priority to household income under $100k).
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific, but useful for therapy costs.
• Dyslexia Services Foundation Grant · Dyslexia Services Foundation
  For low-income U.S. children with dyslexia who cannot otherwise afford treatment (need shown via free/reduced lunch, Medicaid, or SNAP).
  Typically identified through a teacher or provider; not homeschool-specific.
• HSLDA Compassion Curriculum Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For HSLDA members with significant financial need (legal custody of a child 6-19, homeschooling 3+ months).
  You must privately fund your homeschool (not receiving ESA or other public funds).
• HSLDA Disaster Relief Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For homeschooling families (child 6-19) with physical disaster damage in the past 18 months.
• MyGOAL Autism Grant · MyGOAL Inc.
  For the primary caregiver of a child under 18 with autism, with demonstrated financial need.
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific.
• Our Military Kids Grant · Our Military Kids
  For children (1-18) of deployed National Guard/Reserve members (60+ days) or of post-9/11 combat-injured service members and veterans.
  Funds organized, provider-led activities (not parent-taught core instruction).
• UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Grant · UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation
  For U.S. children aged 16 or under with commercial (non-public) health insurance, subject to income guidelines.
  Medical (not education) funding — useful for special-needs homeschoolers' therapy costs.

Full details, amounts and deadlines for every program →