Homeschooling in South Dakota

What you must file

1. No fixed dateYou file

   Alternative Instruction Notification (AIN)

   Within 30 days of starting alternative instruction (the first time, while your child is of school age)

   Goes to: SD Department of Education or the resident district

   A 2021 law (Senate Bill 177, in force from July 1, 2021) removed the requirement for families to report assessment results: children taught at home no longer have to take and submit the results of nationally standardized achievement tests in grades 4, 8 and 11. You do not file every year, and you do not send a birth certificate with the notification. File one notification for each child, one time, unless a transition occurs; the updated notification for a transition is listed separately. File in the Department of Education's online Alternative Instruction Notification system, which notifies your school district and the Department at the same time, or send the paper form (front and back) to the Department of Education or to your school district's main office. You receive a signed or stamped copy as proof of notification. The notification is kept confidential.

2. No fixed dateYou file

   Updated Alternative Instruction Notification after a transition

   Within 30 days of the transition (your child enrolls in a public or nonpublic school, or moves to a different school district)

   How often: when it happens

   Goes to: SD Department of Education or the local school district

   The law requires an updated notification on the standard form within 30 days if your child enrolls in a public or nonpublic school, or moves to a different school district (SDCL 13-27-7). The Department of Education also says an updated notification must be submitted within 30 days if your child is moving to or open enrolling in another district but will still be home schooling, or will no longer be home schooling. Update the notification in the online system, or send the paper form and mark the reason for the resubmission. If your child plans to take the state's reduced-tuition dual credit courses in grade 11 or 12, update your child's information in the system the semester before your child becomes eligible; a signed Memorandum of Understanding must then be submitted to the Department of Education to start enrollment.

3. No fixed dateYou file

   School activities paperwork, only if your child takes part in school activities

   Only if your child takes part in school activities: before each season or activity begins

   Goes to: Your resident school district (the appropriate school official)

   Children taught at home may take part in the activities their resident district offers, and must meet the same requirements as enrolled students. Signing up is separate from the Alternative Instruction Notification. Before the season of each sport or activity, give the appropriate school official a copy of a complete transcript of the previous semester's completed coursework. For activities sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association, complete its Eligibility Checklist for Alternative Instruction Students every year and submit it to the school district, with the athletic physical form if one applies. Many activities also need proof of age, such as a birth certificate or an affidavit in lieu of one. If your child becomes ineligible under the Association's or the school's rules, you must notify the appropriate school official, on the reporting timeline the district sets.