South Dakota Homeschooling

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13-27-9. Record of certificates of excuse from attendance--Copies to secretary and place of instruction.
A permanent record of all certificates of excuse shall be kept in some safe place as determined by the school board. Any certificate of excuse of a pupil receiving alternative instruction pursuant to § 13-27-3 shall be kept confidential after approval of the school board pursuant to § 13- 27-2. Copies of any certificate of excuse shall be forwarded to the secretary of the Department of Education. Copies of any certificates of excuse shall also be forwarded to the place where the child is instruc...
13-27-3.1. Birth certificate or affidavit to be submitted--Violation as misdemeanor.
Any person who is required pursuant to § 13-27-1 to cause any child to attend any public or nonpublic school or alternative instruction program pursuant to § 13-27-3 in this state shall, either at the time of enrollment in any school in this state or upon being excused from school attendance pursuant to § 13-27-3 or within thirty days of initial enrollment or excuse, provide the public or nonpublic school or the alternative instruction program with a certified copy of the child's birth certifica...
Application for Public School Exemption Certificate SDCL
This form is provided by the South Dakota Department of Education. Parents/guardians who currently provide alternative instruction pursuant to SDCL 13-27-3 are required to file an Application for Public School Exemption Certificate annually. Beginning with the 2005-2006 school year, the exemption applications will no longer be mailed out to parents/guardians. Therefore, the application must be obtained here, from the local school district, or directly from the Department of Education. The comple...
13-27-20. Complaints against persons responsible for truancy--Contents of complaint-- Verification.
Each truancy officer shall make and file truancy complaints, and any teacher, school officer, or any citizen may make and file a truancy complaint, before a circuit court judge, against any person having control of a child of compulsory school age who is not attending school or whose attendance is irregular. The complaint shall state the name of the parent, guardian, or person responsible for the control of the child. The complaint shall be verified by oath upon belief of the complainant.
13-27-3.4. Certified copy of birth certificate to be provided to certain persons at no cost.
Notwithstanding § 34-25-52, the department of health or the local registrar of vital records shall provide a certified copy of any child's birth certificate at no cost if the person requesting the certificate pursuant to § 13-27-3.1 is eligible to receive temporary assistance for needy families under chapter 28-7, food stamps under chapter 28-12, or county poor relief under chapter 28-13. Source: SL 1988, ch 142, § 4.
13-27-3. Child excused if provided alternative instruction--Application--Investigation-- Revocation--Restrictions--Testing.
A child shall be excused from school attendance, pursuant to § 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 ...
13-27-29. Placement of child who has attended unaccredited school or alternative program-- Appeal.
If a child of compulsory school age has been attending an unaccredited school in another state or country or has been receiving alternative instruction pursuant to § 13-27-3 enrolls in a public school in this state, the child shall be placed at the child's demonstrated level of proficiency as established by one or more standardized tests. However, a child's placement may not be in a grade level higher than warranted by the child's chronological age assuming entry into the first grade at age six ...
South Dakota Department of Education
This is the official internet presence for the South Dakota Department of Education. Discover resources and services designed to assist families with children.
Participation of Home School/Alternative Instruction Students in Interscholastic Activities
An interpretation of the homeschooling laws by the South Dakota Department of Education.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
The four figures carved in stone on Mount Rushmore represent the first 150 years of American history. The birth of our nation was guided by the vision and courage of George Washington. Thomas Jefferson always had dreams of something bigger, first in the words of the Declaration of Independence and later in the expansion of our nation through the Louisiana Purchase. Preservation of the union was paramount to Abraham Lincoln but a nation where all men were free and equal was destined to be. At the...
13-27-3.2. Maintenance of birth certificate by school as permanent record.
Any copy of any certified birth certificate provided pursuant to § 13-27-3.1 shall be maintained by the public or nonpublic school or alternative instruction program and shall be a part of the child's permanent cumulative school record.
South Dakota Home School Laws from HSLDA
The Home School Legal Defense Association provides a brief summary of the homeschooling laws in South Dakota. Includes a link to a legal analysis of laws relating to homeschooling in South Dakota.
Jewel Cave National Monument
With more than 129 miles surveyed, Jewel Cave is recognized as the third longest cave in the world. Airflow within its passages indicates a vast area yet to be explored. Cave tours provide opportunities for viewing this pristine cave system and its wide variety of speleothems including stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, frostwork, flowstone, boxwork and hydromagnesite balloons. The cave is an important hibernaculum for several species of bats. Located west of Custer, South Dakota.
Bramble Park Zoo
At the Bramble Park Zoo, located in Watertown, experience over 500 mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and invertebrates representing 130 varieties from around the world and those native to South Dakota.
South Dakota Christian Home Educators (SDCHE)
South Dakota Christian Home Educators (SDCHE) is a nonprofit volunteer organization that is dedicated to serving home educators across South Dakota and in neighboring states. They serve to encourage and serve families interested or involved in home education by assisting them in finding the information and resources necessary to teach their children at home, and furthermore, to work on behalf of such home-teaching families for the continued liberty to do so.
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Quote of the Day

School days, I believe, are the unhappiest in the whole span of human existence. They are full of dull, unintelligible tasks, new and unpleasant ordinances, and brutal violations of common sense and common decency. It doesn't take a reasonably bright boy long to discover that most of what is rammed into him is nonsense, and that no one really cares very much whether he learns it or not.

H.L. Mencken