Homeschool Laws in South Dakota: Requirements and How to Start

South Dakota is one of the most straightforward states in the country to homeschool. The legal requirements are minimal, the state does not conduct home visits, and there is no curriculum approval process. But "minimal requirements" does not mean "no requirements" — there are specific steps families must follow to remain legally compliant, and missing them can create unnecessary friction with local school administrators.

Here is an honest breakdown of South Dakota homeschool law, what you must do, and where families commonly make mistakes.

South Dakota's Legal Framework for Homeschooling

Under South Dakota Codified Laws §13-27-3, parents have the right to educate their children at home. South Dakota classifies homeschooling as home schooling — a distinct legal category that triggers specific rights and obligations. Compulsory school attendance applies to children ages 6 through 16.

What South Dakota Requires from Homeschooling Families

Annual Notice of Intent

South Dakota requires parents to file a notice of intention to homeschool with the local school superintendent once, when homeschooling begins, and then annually by September 1 each school year. The notice is straightforward — it identifies the children being homeschooled and declares your intent to provide home instruction.

You file with your local school district superintendent, not a state agency. If you move to a different district, you file again with the new superintendent.

Required Subjects

South Dakota law requires homeschooled students to receive instruction in:

• Language arts
• Mathematics
• Social studies
• Science
• Health

These are broad content areas, not specific curriculum requirements. South Dakota does not mandate which textbooks or programs you use, nor does it require you to follow the state's academic standards.

Minimum Instructional Hours

South Dakota requires a minimum of 175 days of instruction per year. This is one of the more concrete requirements in the state's homeschool statute. You are responsible for tracking attendance — a simple daily log noting whether instruction occurred is sufficient.

Teacher Qualifications

South Dakota requires the parent providing instruction to have a high school diploma or GED. There is no requirement to hold a teaching certificate or bachelor's degree.

Standardized Testing: What South Dakota Actually Requires

South Dakota requires homeschooled students to take a standardized achievement test annually, administered by a qualified evaluator. The test must be a nationally recognized instrument (such as the Stanford Achievement Test, Iowa Assessments, or the CAT). Results do not need to be submitted to the state or the school district — they are maintained privately by the parent.

This is an important distinction. South Dakota mandates that the testing occur, but it does not require you to report the results to anyone. You keep the records internally. There is no score threshold that triggers state intervention.

How to Withdraw Your Child from Public School in South Dakota

If your child is currently enrolled in a public school:

1. Notify the school in writing that you are withdrawing your child to begin homeschooling. A brief letter stating the child's name, grade, and effective date of withdrawal is sufficient.
2. Send it via certified mail with return receipt requested. This creates a paper record proving the school received your notification — important if there is ever any question about whether your child has been truant.
3. File your notice of intent to homeschool with the local superintendent, either immediately or before the September 1 annual deadline, whichever comes first.

You are not required to explain your reasons for homeschooling to the principal, share your curriculum plan, or sit for any kind of administrative review before beginning instruction at home.

Dual Enrollment: Sports and Activities

South Dakota does not have a statewide statute requiring public schools to allow homeschooled students to participate in athletics or extracurricular activities. Some districts have local policies permitting homeschool participation; others do not. If sports eligibility is important to your family, contact your school district directly and get their policy in writing before finalizing your decision.

Record-Keeping Best Practices

South Dakota's testing requirement creates a natural incentive to keep organized records throughout the year. Even beyond that requirement, maintaining the following records is strongly advisable:

• Attendance log: A simple daily record showing 175+ days of instruction
• Test results: Copies of annual achievement test results (required to retain; not required to submit)
• Curriculum materials: Notes on textbooks and programs used, organized by subject and school year
• Work samples: Student assignments, projects, and assessments across core subjects

If your child later transitions back to public or private school, or applies to college, these records will be essential for placement and transcript creation.

Where Families Run Into Trouble

Not Filing the Annual Notice

The most common compliance failure in South Dakota is forgetting to re-file the notice of intent each September 1. Unlike states with one-time registration, South Dakota's annual requirement means you must actively re-notify each year.

Skipping the Standardized Test

Even though results stay private, the testing requirement is a real legal obligation. Families who skip annual testing entirely are technically out of compliance with South Dakota law.

Stopping Instruction Before 175 Days

The 175-day minimum is concrete. A school year that ends significantly short of that threshold is a compliance issue. Track your days from the start of each school year.

If You Are Homeschooling in Iowa

Iowa's homeschool laws are structurally more complex than South Dakota's. Iowa has a dual-path legal system — Competent Private Instruction (CPI) and Independent Private Instruction (IPI) — where choosing the wrong path means either filing paperwork you legally did not need to file, or failing to file paperwork that is actually required. The wrong choice can lead to school district oversight you did not consent to, or truancy exposure.

Iowa's 148-day instruction minimum, Form A filing requirements, the 30th percentile assessment threshold for older students under CPI, and the certified mail protocol for withdrawal letters all need to be handled correctly from day one. The Iowa Legal Withdrawal Blueprint provides fillable templates and a plain-English decision guide for Iowa families navigating this process.

Bottom Line

South Dakota is one of the cleaner states to homeschool in. File your annual notice by September 1, ensure your child completes 175 days of instruction, and conduct a standardized test annually (keeping the results yourself). Those are the core obligations. The state does not review your curriculum, inspect your home, or require you to report test results to anyone. The main pitfalls are administrative — forgetting to re-file the annual notice or losing track of instructional days — not substantive. Keep a basic attendance log and you will stay compliant.

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