Homeschool Option or ESTF? Two Legal Ways to Teach at Home in South Carolina, and Why Not Both

If you homeschool in South Carolina and you have heard about the state's $7,634 Education Scholarship Trust Fund for 2026-27, you have probably also heard that homeschoolers can't use it. That is true, and it isn't the whole story. There are now two legal ways to teach your child at home in this state, and they don't mix. This article explains the difference in plain terms.

Door number one: the three homeschool options

South Carolina's compulsory attendance law, in Title 59, Chapter 65, gives parents three ways to homeschool. Option 1 is approval by your school district's board of trustees under Section 59-65-40, with extra requirements such as a 4½-hour instructional day, a semiannual progress report to the district and annual statewide testing. Option 2 is membership in the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools under Section 59-65-45. Option 3 is membership in a homeschool association with at least 50 members under Section 59-65-47, where the parent keeps a plan book, a portfolio and a semiannual progress report.

All three share the basics: a parent with at least a high school diploma or GED, a 180-day school year, and instruction in reading, writing, math, science and social studies, plus composition and literature in grades 7-12. None of them comes with state money.

Why those options shut the ESTF door

Every ESTF parent signs a yearly attestation listed in Section 59-8-115(D)(4). Item (e) is a promise "not to participate in a home instruction program under Section 59-65-40, 59-65-45, or 59-65-47." SCDE's Home School FAQ puts it plainly: students homeschooled under those sections are not eligible. The ESTF program site words it by school year, saying a student can't homeschool under Option 1, 2 or 3 for the 2026-27 school year.

Door number two: teaching at home under the ESTF

Now the part that gets lost. Section 59-8-115(H) says a parent's signed ESTF agreement "satisfies the state's compulsory attendance law." In other words, the ESTF agreement is its own legal footing, just as an option is. SCDE's ESTF FAQ says it directly: some families are choosing to educate at home and use the ESTF to buy curriculum, technology, tutoring and educational therapies. The FAQ sums up the only two hard limits: you can't attend your zoned public school, and you can't enroll in an Option 1-3 association.

So an ESTF family can teach at home. It is just doing so under the ESTF's rules, not as a homeschool under Options 1-3.

What you sign up for on the ESTF side

• Instruction in at least English/language arts including writing, math, social studies and science, per the yearly attestation.
• Annual testing for students in grades 3-11, reported to SCDE (state tests, an approved norm-referenced test such as the Iowa, or an approved formative test given three times a year; high schoolers may use the ACT, SAT or PSAT).
• Spending only on approved expenses, through ClassWallet, with invoices, under SCDE review.
• A yearly renewal and the income limit, which is 500% of the federal poverty guidelines for 2026-27.
• For a child with a disability, an acknowledgment that the ESTF is a parental placement under federal special education law.

The ESTF statute has its own list of parent promises, and it isn't a copy of the option rules. Read the affidavit in ClassWallet carefully, and keep your own records of what you teach, because you are the one answering for it.

What you gain and what you give up

The gain is money: $7,634 per child for 2026-27 that can pay for tutoring, therapies, online courses, curriculum and devices within limits. The costs are real too. You give up the association or district that stands behind your homeschool, you take on testing even if your option didn't require it, and every purchase runs through an approval process. The program is also capped and was full for 2026-27, so a family that drops its option without a confirmed award could be left with neither. Don't leave your option until the ESTF award is in hand.

Questions to settle before you switch

• Siblings. If one child gets an award and another doesn't, can the second stay in your association? The attestation is signed by the parent, so ask SCDE in writing before you assume.
• Sports and activities. South Carolina's Equal Access to Interscholastic Activities Act, Section 59-63-100, defines a home school student by Options 1-3. ESTF students taught at home aren't named, and we found no official guidance. Ask your district before the season.
• College scholarships. LIFE and Palmetto Fellows rules refer to homeschool programs and associations. If you have a high schooler, ask the Commission on Higher Education how ESTF years will be treated.
• Records and transcripts. Under an association, the association often keeps or reports records. Under the ESTF, plan to keep your own transcript and grades.
• Timing. Ask your association how and when to withdraw, and confirm with SCDE when your ESTF agreement starts covering attendance.

Going back

Nothing in the law locks you into the ESTF. A family can tell SCDE it is leaving (the FAQ says to email ESTFProgram@ed.sc.gov with the reason) and return to a homeschool option. Under Section 59-8-125, money left in the account reverts to the fund when a student leaves, so spend wisely and plan the exit date.

A family deciding

The Hamptons in Rock Hill homeschooled three children under an Option 3 association for six years. When their middle son was diagnosed with dyslexia, the cost of weekly therapy pushed them to look at the ESTF. They applied during the general window, kept everyone in the association while they waited, and only withdrew the son after his award letter came. His siblings stayed in the association after SCDE answered their written question. The first year meant learning ClassWallet invoices and scheduling a MAP test, but the therapy bills were covered.

(A composite example — names and details are illustrative, drawn from situations homeschool families commonly describe.)

Checklist

• Write down what you get from your current option and what you would lose.
• Check the household income limit for your family size.
• Join the ESTF waitlist and watch for the 2027-28 windows.
• Ask SCDE about siblings and timing in writing, and keep the answer.
• Stay in your option until an award is confirmed.
• Find tutors and therapists in our vendor directory, compare notes in our community, and read the full ESTF guide.

My Learning Source is an independent marketplace and is not affiliated with the South Carolina Department of Education, the Education Scholarship Trust Fund, ClassWallet, SCAIHS or any South Carolina homeschool association. Eligibility rules and timing can change — confirm details with SCDE and your homeschool association before you withdraw or apply. Family examples are composites, not real individuals.