Palmetto Independent Educators believes that each home school family needs to have a full understanding of the home school laws and their requirements. The following section enumerates each part of the law provided in section 59-65-47 and what PIE requires in order to be in compliance with them.
Parents or guardians maintaining a membership with a “Third Option” accountability association, which has no fewer than fifty members, may teach their children from the home school setting. Continuing compliance with the academic standards and requirements of a “Third Option” accountability association exempts the home school from the requirements of the “First Option” (provided in section 59-65-40), or the “Second Option” (provided in section 59-65-45).
Verification of legal guardianship requires a copy of Court ordered documentation to be kept on file with the office of PIE.
Law A: A parent must hold at least a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED). PIE requires a copy of the parent-teacher's diploma or GED certificate to be kept on file in the office.
Law B: The instructional year is at least one hundred eighty days. PIE requires a School Year Review Form for each student be submitted by June 30th of the current school year.
Law C: The curriculum includes, but is not limited to, the basic instructional areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies, in grades seven through twelve, composition and literature. The parent-teacher shall maintain educational records.
PIE understands that because each student has different needs and different learning styles, the parent-teacher is the best person to determine in what manner to present the required subjects. Even though we do not review any specific lesson plans or diaries in order to check for compliance to the law, it is understood that it is the responsibility of each parent-teacher to cover all of the required subjects with each student.
The office of PIE does not approve or disapprove a member’s curriculum. However, the office of PIE does recommend comparing the content of the user’s core curriculum against South Carolina’s curriculum standards to ensure the content of the curriculum of the user’s choice is competitive with the states standards.
Law D: Educational records shall be maintained by the parent-teacher and include:
(1) a plan book, diary, or other record indicating subjects taught and activities in which the student and parent-teacher engage
(2) a portfolio of samples of the student's academic work
(3) a semiannual progress report including attendance records and individualized documentation of the student's academic progress in each of the basic instructional areas specified in item (C) above.
PIE suggests that a daily lesson planner, diary or journal be kept on each child that includes a list or description of lessons/activities for each subject taught. A separate folder (portfolio) should be kept that includes a list or description of student's best work in each subject throughout the year. Also this folder should contain any tests, quizzes, report papers or other documents that indicates a student's mastery of the required material.
AS THE PARENT, I UNDERSTAND THAT ALL INFORMATION GIVEN TO PALMETTO INDEPENDENT EDUCATORS IS CONFIDENTIAL AND CANNOT BE RELEASED WITHOUT MY WRITTEN CONSENT. I DO AGREE, HOWEVER, IF INQUIRY IS MADE CONCERNING MY MEMBERSHIP IN PIE, MY GOOD STANDING IN THE ORGANIZATION MAY BE ACKNOWLEDGED. I ALSO AGREE, PALMETTO INDEPENDENT EDUCATORS WILL COMPLY WITH ALL SUBPOENAS SERVED ON PALMETTO INDEPENDENT EDUCATORS FOR MEMBERSHIP AND EDUCATIONAL RECORDS RECEIVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SC STATE LAW. FALSIFYING OF ANY INFORMATION WILL RESULT IN THE IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP.
I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT AS A MEMBER OF THE PALMETTO INDEPENDENT EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION, I AM RESPONSIBLE AND AGREE TO MAINTAIN IN MY HOME THE APPROPRIATE RECORDS, AS STATED IN THE LAW ABOVE.
SHOULD I, THE PARENT, DECIDE TO RETURN MY STUDENT TO A PUBLIC/PRIVATE SCHOOL SETTING, I WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING THE PUBLIC/PRIVATE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION WITH A COPY OF MY STUDENT'S HOME-SCHOOL RECORDS.
Revised: 02/14/2022
ATTENTION: PAYMENT PROCEDURE ALERT
The office of PIE has established our permanent online payment services. We can now accept online credit card payments. If you prefer to send payment through the U.S. Postal Services, please use the PDF printable forms. If you choose to continue with the online form, selecting the submit button redirects browsers to the Payment-Options-and-Refund-Policy page, where online payments are processed.
$60.00 per family for new members.
$50.00 per family for members registered with PIE for the previous academic year ($10.00 late fee applies after August 15th).