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Home Education and Religious Training

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1. Offer homeschooling families legal status under SC Code 59-65-47 – the Third Option.
2. We maintain annual membership records, report the number of students homeschooled per grade annually to each school district, and submit the annual assurance form as required by the SC Department of Education.
3. Offer homeschooling families support and services: 
   1. We assist in the transition from public/private school to homeschool. We provide documentation of membership as needed for families for the SC Department of Motor Vehicles, dual enrollment or college attendance, scholarships, and other similar requests.
   2. We offer assistance and counseling to families regarding the maintenance of homeschool records required by law.
   3. We offer assistance with the preparation of high school transcripts. We offer guidance services for high school students including, but not limited, to letters of recommendation, preparation of transcripts, preparation and verification of class rank, Palmetto Fellows Scholarship filing. 

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The State Department of Education shall conduct annually a review of the association standards to ensure that requirements of the association, at a minimum, include:

(a) a parent must hold at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general educational development (GED) certificate;
(b) the instructional year is at least one hundred eighty days; 
(c) the curriculum includes, but is not limited to, the basic instructional areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies, and in grades seven through twelve, composition and literature; and
(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; and 
(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. 

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1. Membership applications must be completed online with Course of Study and member fees paid.

2. Any new students with high school work completed in previous years should include a transcript/report card at time of application.

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When your registration is complete, your member letter will go out in the mail.  iF YOU APPLIED ALREADY, you should see an email from us. (Check Spam)

First year members: 

1. Apply

2. Pay fees

3. Fill in PCOS (proposed course of study - just a plan of what you will teach- can be adjusted during the year)

4. Attend New Member meeting - recommended but not required 

Returning Members:

1. Pay renewal fee

2. Fill out PCOS 

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• June 1-July 31 ~ Early Bird Family Registration fee - $45/per family (*ALL forms must be turned in by 7/31)
• August 1-31~ Family Registration Fee - $70
• High School fee ~ $20/per student per year high schoolers

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Heart holds many informative member meetings in the summer and monthly Help Meetings during the school year.   All of these are held at the Anderson Library.    Monthly Help Meetings are on the calendar and drop-in style.  There is no appointment required or additional cost to talk to the Heart staff at these meetings.  You are welcome to come as often as you like!

You can email us: [email protected]

Or call and leave a message: 864-648-9865   *we try to return all calls same day by late afternoon*

Or email us that you would like a phone call. 

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Membership in HEART runs from June 7 through May 31.  On June 7, membership opens for the new year.  High school grades are due by May 31st.  Students in lower grades may continue to homeschool past May 31 if needed.

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Families have the flexibility to determine their own academic calendar. However, all courses taken for high school credit must be completed by May 31. With the May 31 deadline in mind, students taking any course for high school credit should start their work early enough to allow for sickness, compiling grades and portfolios, and unexpected life events.

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The state requires a waiver to be signed at your local school to opt out of K5.  

Otherwise, K5 should be taught to your homeschooled child.  The does not mean a separate Math, Writing, Reading, Science, and History text must be completed, but these subjects must be in the curriculum.  It is very easy to combine subjects and topics in the early years and use a Unit Study approach.  

The child should be registered with a Option 1, 2, or 3 group and the standard homeschool records should be maintained. 

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A parent may teach a foster child at home (provided in Section 59-65-40, 59-65-45, or 59-65-47) if, in addition to other requirements, home schooling of the child has been approved by the Department of Social Services or other agency having custody of the child. 

If there is divorce in the family history, please indicate which parent has full custody of the child(ren). 

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HEART is required to sign and submit an annual assurance form to the SC Department of Education each school year stating that our families are in compliance with the law. The annual record check is the simplest way to verify compliance, and gives you added confidence that anyone questioning your family will be met with evidence of your thorough homeschooling.  Record check is not a discussion/evaluation of student progress, but a simple check of your records.   HEART established the annual record check to fulfill our responsibility as a third option group.   **It is our main goal to assist and help families as much as possible when records are incomplete so that they will be able continue to homeschool successfully.   You will be given ample time to fix any deficiencies that may be in your records. 

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The state of South Carolina is very friendly with regards to supporting home education, and HEART is open to families with many different homeschooling methods.  However, SC is also very specific about the days in a school year and subjects being included in the curriculum.  HEART families aim to fulfill the requirements of SC law, and each family is asked to bring the state-required items to record check: attendance, portfolio, planner/diary or record of student activities, progress reports (2 per year).   If you do not wish to keep the required records, Heart will probably not be the best fit for your family. 

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Record check is a simple check of your required records.  A longtime member or Board member will check that you have a plan book,  or daily activity log, samples of work, progress report for semester one, and attendance sheet. **Each child should have a separate attendance sheet and plan book.  Check is done in January and takes about 20 minutes.  If any items are missing, you will have time to correct that before the end of the year.   (New families also have a checkin in May.)

HEART does NOT evaluate work, progress, or student academics.  We are only checking for the presence of the required items. 

This is a great time to ask any questions you may have. 

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Elementary students                 End of Year Form (EOY) available in print, email, or online 

Middle school students             EOY form AND numeric grades for any, if applicable, high school classes by May 31 (if applicable)

High school students                EOY form AND numeric grades for high school classes by May 31

AP classes                               Final grade copy must be sent to Heart (however it is provided to you by the teacher) by May 31

Dual Enrollment                       Official transcript must be received by Heart from the college by May 31    

ALL students                          Make sure to complete a Progress Report for 2nd semester and complete attendance of 180 days (file these with your records)

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A great place to start looking for curriculum is Cathy Duffy's 102 Top Picks.  The book actually has a quiz to help you decide what style of programs may fit you best as a parent.  Another great resource for classical homeschooling is the Well Trained Mind (Wise/Bauer).

Several online providers have a large selection of different materials all in one place:

Rainbow Resource Center

Christian Book Distributors

Specific Companies:

Abeka Books

Alpha Omega (book, online, and DVD options)

Apologia

Bob Jones Press

Christian Light Education/Publications

Excellence in Writing

My Father's World

Peace Hill Press (assoc with The Well Trained Mind) 

Rod & Staff

Saxon

Timberdoodle

Veritas Press, and many more!

A homeschool convention is a great place to see the different books.  Greenville holds a large convention in March.  (Great Homeschool Conventions)