Homeschool funding & ESAs in South Dakota

Can I get paid to homeschool in South Dakota?

No. South Dakota has no ESA or voucher that independent homeschooling families can use. Nationwide grants are listed below, each with its own eligibility rules. 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. South Dakota's homeschool rules require no test or evaluation of their own, so there is nothing on that side to arrange.

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

South Dakota does not require a test or an evaluation, so there is no assessment to arrange. What South Dakota asks for — notice, instruction time, testing and records — is set out below, straight from the reviewed rules.

Notice

Yes. South Dakota requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: Either the South Dakota Department of Education or your local school district — SDCL 13-27-3 lets you file with whichever you choose. The office that receives the form signs or stamps it and gives you that copy as your proof of notification (SDCL 13-27-7), and the Department's standard form directs that office to send a copy to the other one. How: Alternative Instruction Notification on the state's standard form, one per child. The Department's online system notifies the district and the Department at the same time; a paper form can be mailed to the Department of Education in Pierre or handed in at the school district's main office — send both sides, because the attestations and your signature are on the back. When: Within 30 days after alternative instruction first begins — one time per child, not every year (SDCL 13-27-7). File again within 30 days if the child enrolls in a public or nonpublic school or moves to a different school district. The Department's form and its Alternative Instruction page also ask for an updated notification within 30 days if the child open enrolls in another district, stops receiving alternative instruction, moves out of state, or the child's details need correcting. Before July 1, 2021 a South Dakota family applied to the local school board for a public-school exemption certificate and renewed it every year. SB 177 (2021) made the notification one-time and removed the approval step — the Department's FAQ says no school board action is needed to finalize it. What SB 177 did not do is move the filing from the district to the state: SDCL 13-27-3 has read 'either the Department of Education or the local district' ever since.

Testing or evaluation

No. South Dakota does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students. Pre-2021 law required testing in grades 2, 4, 8, 11. SB 177 (2021) eliminated all testing requirements — none is currently mandated.

Days and hours

None. South Dakota does not set a minimum number of instructional days or hours for homeschoolers. SDCL 13-27-1 asks that a child regularly receive alternative instruction until age 18, but neither it nor SDCL 13-27-3 sets a school term, a school day, or an attendance record — 13-27-3 requires only language arts and mathematics, instruction leading to mastery of English, and no more than 22 students per instructor. Until July 1, 2021 the law did tie home instruction to the public-school calendar; SB 177 struck the words 'for an equivalent period of time, as in the public schools' from 13-27-3, along with the department's power to inspect an alternative instruction program's attendance records. The 437.5 / 875 / 962.5-hour figures still widely quoted for South Dakota come from SDCL 13-26-1, which tells a local school board how long a term to run in its own district; they bind schools, not home instruction.

Records

South Dakota does not require homeschooling families to keep specific records. South Dakota requires no records of the home program itself. The Department of Education's FAQ recommends keeping a detailed academic record, including attendance and grades, and says a parent-issued transcript is required to take part in school activities, to enroll in the state's reduced-tuition dual credit program, and for admission to a public school or a college later on.

Full South Dakota homeschool requirements →

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 →