Click here for Federal Legislation for updates about congressional bills and related activity.

Click here for Project Vote Smart to learn about or contact any representative or senator.

Last updated 28-April-08

The legislative session officially opened on January 9, 2007. The second session begins January 8, 2008. However both the Senate and the House began prefiling on December 5, 2007. Please check this page frequently as the bills may or may not move quickly through both chambers. We will keep this page current with the progress of bills and with any new bills that may be introduced that would affect home schoolers. If there is an issue that we feel you need to know about quickly, we will send out an alert to all SCHEA members. Remember, any bill has until the end of May, 2008 to pass. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. For information about your legislator, go to www.votesmart.org.
	S1223A Concurrent Resolution Recognizing the diligent efforts of home schooling parents and the academic success of their students, expressing sincere appreciation for their focus on the well-being and overall achievements of their children, and declaring April 2008, Home School Recognition Month. Please send an email to Senator John Courson thanking him for sponsoring this resolution. To read the full bill, click on the bill number.
	H4936 Would allow for home schooled students to participate in sports, music and cheerleading in their local school districts.
	S1188 H4888 would make school attendance mandatory until the age of 18, unless the student graduates or receives a high school equivalency diploma.
	S815 provides for a full day four-year-old kindergarten. Right now it is only for "at-risk" students and does not affect home schoolers. We will watch its progress. As of 4/25 it had passed the Senate and was in the House Committee on Education and Public Works.
	H3994 Would require students to be in school until they are 19 unless they graduate before that. Current wording does not include home schoolers. However, we need to watch what happens to this one.
	H4319 would raise the age of compulsory education from seventeen to eighteen.
	H3941 would change the reporting requirements for all THIRD Option Supervisory Associations as well as SCAIHS, to include the names, ages, and grade levels for all home schooled children and names and addresses of their parents. It would change the curriculum requirements slightly. Anytime the government begins to tamper with current home schooling requirements, we need to be particularly vigilant. the sponsors have promised us it will go no further than the committee
	S157 H3347 Teachers can bring civil action against a student who commits a criminal offense against the teacher on school grounds or at a school related event. Included in the definition of schools is "home school that includes students not related by blood." This could include co-ops and resource centers. Has passed the Senate and is currently in the House Judiciary Committee.
	H3715 H3764 (similar bills) Increases penalties for people convicted of certain criminal sexual conduct in a school or school related activity. Included in the definition of "school" is "Home school that includes students not related by blood to the operator." This could include co-ops and resource centers.
	H3728 Would mandate that dual credit courses receive the same weightings as honor courses on the uniform grading scale.
	S478 Tries, again, to establish a K-4 program, making it mandatory under this bill.
	H3134 would permit grandparents to visit with children even against the wishes of the parents. As home schoolers we know that there are times when family court interferes with the family 's fundamental right to parent their children. This bill came out of committee with some modifications, including the fact that it would not apply to households where children and parents live in the same home (i.e. Married parents as opposed to divorced). Read for the third time in the House and sent to the Senate on April 18th
	S291 (H3170) Would give an extra stipend to college juniors and seniors who already have either the LIFE or Palmetto scholarship and who are majoring in math or science. H3170 Passed through the House and went to the Senate Education Committee where it passed favorable with amendment and is on the calendar for second reading in the Senate. The current bill would make the extra stipend a loan, totally cancalled if the student works in his field in the state of South Carolina for 5 years after graduation. It also expands the majors to include education. S291 Passed the Senate and is in the House Committee on Education.
	S 20 Requires insurance companies to cover "pervasive developmental disorders" including autism & asperger's syndrome. Became law June 18, 2007
	S 93 Provides equal access to interscholastic activities to non public traditional students, including charter schools, governor's school and home schoolers. Scheduled to come before the full Senate on Tuesday April 17th for a second reading.
	S145 Lowers the age for eligibility for taking the GED to 16.
	S200 Once again the legislators are trying to tie drivers license eligibility to school attendance. Anyone under the age of 17 must consent to the release of his/her attendance records. The student must have a diploma, a GED, or show proof of attending school in conformity to school attendance laws.
	S217 , H3097 While brick and mortar charter schools made it through the legislature last year, virtual charter schools did not. This bill makes virtual schools legal in SC. Always be aware of the strings attached to virtual schools run by the public school system. There are differences between the Senate bill & the House bill. These things will need to be worked out in the long legislative process. This bill has come out of committee and has been adopted. Included in the compromised version is a statement that says, "private or home school students choosing to take courses from a virtual charter school may not be provided instructional materials, or any other materials associated with receiving instruction through a program of online or computer instruction at the state's expense." While home schooled students will be allowed to take courses (up to 3 credits per year), there will be nothing given to them for those courses.
	H3160 would require school districts to provide information to parents about the requirements for homeschooling if such information is requested. Anytime the school is giving out home school information, there is a great possibility of disinformation.
	H4318 would lower the age for enrolling in kindergarten over to the next six years to four and a half. Right now, it would be with parental permission for public school students. As always, we watch these bills to know where they might be headed for home schoolers.