We are considering a move to South Dakota,...

[isamama]

[iamnettie]

[Theodore]

http://doe.sd.gov/oatq/accreditation/al ... nrules.asp

If your child is 6 years old by the first day of September, you're required to homeschool through the entire following school year. You're also required to cover kindergarten, but there's nothing saying you have to wait until age 6 to do that, and most people would cover kindergarten around age 3 or 4. You can stop schooling as soon as your child turns 16.

No teacher certification of any sort is required.

"Submit a notarized application to the local superintendent using the form provided by state department of education. If submitting an application for first time, include certified copy of child's birth certificate or affidavit notarized or witnessed by two or more witnesses, swearing that the child identified on the request for excuse is the same person appearing on the child's birth certificate." I tried to locate a copy of this form online, but the only link I came across no longer works, so I guess you'll have to ask the State Department of Education where to find one. Post here and let us know where when you find out.

Instruction must be provided "as in the public schools, in the basic skills of language arts and mathematics" and "given so as to lead to a mastery of the English language".

You should keep records for "attendance and evidence showing academic progress", as well as a copy of your child's birth certificate (see above). "The secretary of the Department of Education may inspect the records of an alternative education program with fourteen days' written notice if the secretary has probable cause to believe the program is not in compliance", but is limited to inspecting the above.

Grades two, four, eight, and eleven shall take "a nationally standardized achievement test of the basic skills. The test may be the test provided by the state and used in the public school district where the child is instructed or another nationally standardized achievement test... The test may be monitored by the local school district where the child is instructed."

I think that covers everything pretty well. In answer to your question, "progress" is a subjective word, and I imagine means being able to solve more advanced problems as time goes on. As long as you're doing a conscientious job of homeschooling, I doubt you need to worry - it's not you the law was designed for, but rather people trying to skip school by pretending to be homeschoolers. Homeschoolers tend to score grades ahead of their public school counterparts.

YAY! A link to the proper form! Thanks, iamnettie.

[isamama]

[Theodore]