How to Withdraw Your Child From Public School in South Carolina (2026): Step by Step

How Withdrawal Works in South Carolina

South Carolina recognizes three legal ways to home school, and you must be operating under one of them before you withdraw your child from public school. You choose an option, join it, then notify your child's public school that the child is withdrawn. The membership is what establishes your home schooling; joining first is the order that keeps your child continuously covered under a recognized program and avoids a truancy gap between public school enrollment and home school enrollment.

The three options are approval by your local school district under South Carolina Code Section 59-65-40, membership in a state-approved home school association under Section 59-65-45, or affiliation with a church or religious school under Section 59-65-47. Each satisfies South Carolina's compulsory attendance law and each comes with different accountability structures. The teaching parent is required to hold a high school diploma or GED under all three options.

South Carolina's compulsory school age runs from 5 through 17. If your child is in that range and currently enrolled in a public school, the public school enrollment does not automatically end when you decide to home school. You replace it by joining an option that gives your home school legal standing, then notifying the school. Getting the order right is the key step that most parents miss.

Step 1: Choose and Join an Option

The three options each provide the accountability the law requires in a different way.

Under the district option (Path 1, Section 59-65-40), your local school district approves and oversees your home school program. You apply to the district, meet its standards, and submit to an annual review. This path involves the most direct ongoing contact with the district and is the least commonly used by South Carolina families.

Under the approved association option (Path 2, Section 59-65-45), you enroll with a state-approved home school association. The association provides oversight, handles the annual evaluation, and issues a diploma if your child completes a high school program through it. This is the path most South Carolina families choose because associations vary in structure and cost, and many are designed to be accessible and family-friendly.

Under the church or religious school option (Path 3, Section 59-65-47), you affiliate with a church-related or religious school that oversees your home school. The institution sets its own requirements and handles accountability within the framework the law allows.

We compare all three options in detail in our South Carolina homeschooling guide. Before you choose, a free reading assessment gives you a picture of where your child stands so you can match your option and curriculum to where instruction needs to begin.

Step 2: Join Before You Withdraw

Whichever option you choose, complete the enrollment or approval process before you send the public school a withdrawal notice. If you are joining an association, sign up and get your membership confirmation. If you are going through the district, secure approval. If you are affiliating with a church school, enroll there. This step is what gives your home schooling legal standing under South Carolina law.

Confirm that the teaching parent holds a high school diploma or GED before you proceed. All three options require it, and an association or the district may ask you to provide documentation at enrollment. Having it ready at the start avoids delays in the membership process.

For a mid-year withdrawal, join your option first, then notify the school. The sequence matters because your child is subject to South Carolina's compulsory attendance law until they are enrolled in a recognized alternative. Joining first means your child is enrolled in a recognized home school program before the public school enrollment ends, so there is no gap where they are neither enrolled in public school nor in a legal home school program.

Once you have your membership confirmation or approval in hand, send the public school written notice. The school then updates its records and stops tracking attendance for your child.

Step 3: Notify the School and Keep Records

Send your child's public school written notice that the child is withdrawn to home schooling under one of the three legal options. A short letter is sufficient. Include which option you are using so the school has a record of why the child is leaving. Keep the notice alongside your membership or approval confirmation in the same folder.

While you are in contact with the school, request any records you want before the withdrawal is complete. Transcripts, immunization records, and prior assessment results belong to the family and are straightforward to request at the point of withdrawal. Collecting them now saves effort later.

After the withdrawal, your accountability obligations depend on which option you joined. Associations and the district route require records and an annual evaluation; the church school path follows the institution's own requirements. None of these follow-on obligations are part of the withdrawal itself. Use our homeschooling guide to plan what to teach once your program is up and running.

Funding Note and Special Education

South Carolina's Education Scholarship Trust Fund is a separate track from the three homeschool options and cannot be combined with them. If you are considering state funding, understand that enrolling under Path 1, 2, or 3 and receiving scholarship funds at the same time is not permitted under current law. Our South Carolina homeschool funding guide explains the scholarship, its income limits, and its relationship to the three paths in full. Your choice of option also determines whether that funding avenue is available to you at all.

If your child has an Individualized Education Program, the special education services the public school provides end when your child withdraws to home schooling. The mandatory IEP entitlement does not carry over. South Carolina districts may offer certain services to private school students with disabilities on a voluntary basis, but those services are not the same as what the IEP required the public school to provide. Contact your district's special education office before withdrawing if your child receives IEP services and those services are part of the daily program.

A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You

South Carolina is a join-first state, so the order is the thing to get right. Pick one of the three options -- most families go with a state-approved association -- join it, and only then tell your child's public school they are withdrawn. Joining first is what keeps your child continuously covered. Confirm the teaching parent has a high school diploma or GED, keep your membership confirmation with your withdrawal note, and you are set. If state funding is on your mind, read our South Carolina funding guide first, because the scholarship and the three options do not mix. Our South Carolina homeschooling guide compares the options in full.