Please Note This Important Notice:
South Dakota home schooling laws and regulations cannot be summarized in a short informational page or overview. It is incumbent upon you to perform due diligence in researching and familiarizing yourself with your state’s legal’s and regulations as they pertain to homeschooling. This information is provided for you to give you a starting point. This is not intended to be legal advice and is distributed for basic informational purposes only. For more information about the laws and regulations in this state please contact a state or local support group or your public library.
South Dakota Home Schooling Compulsory School Age
South Dakota state law regulates home schools under the alternative instruction statutes, SDCL 13-27. Each home school must apply for an exemption certificate from the school board in their district for children ages six through sixteen.
Provisions include: not less than 175 instruction days per academic year, instruction in the basic skills of mathematics and language arts which lead to a mastery of the English language, nationally standardized achievement tests required for grades 2, 4, 8, 11, and no teacher certification required.
13-27-3. Child excused if provided alternative instruction – Application – Investigation – Revocation – Restrictions – Testing.
A child shall be excused from school attendance, pursuant to ยค 13-27-2, because the child is otherwise provided with alternative instruction for an equivalent period of time, as in the public schools, in the basic skills of language arts and mathematics. The parent or guardian of the child shall identify in the application the place where the child will be instructed and any individual who will instruct the child. The individuals are not required to be certified. The secretary of the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs may investigate and determine whether the instruction is being provided. Failure to provide instruction is grounds for the school board, upon thirty days notice, to revoke the excuse from school attendance. The secretary of the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs may inspect the records of an alternative education program with fourteen days written notice if the secretary has probable cause to believe the program is not in compliance with this section. The records to be inspected are limited to attendance and evidence showing academic progress.
No individual may instruct more than twenty-two children. All instructions shall be given so as to lead to a mastery of the English language.
Children receiving alternative instruction who are in grades tested under the South Dakota testing program shall take a nationally standardized achievement test of the basic skills. The test may be the test provided by the South Dakota and used in the public school district where the child is instructed or another nationally standardized achievement test chosen by and provided at the expense of the child’s parent, guardian, or school giving alternative instruction. The test may be monitored by the local school district where the child is instructed.
