Homeschool requirements · South Dakota
Homeschooling in South Dakota
Light paperwork · A notice or an enrollment form, then keep your own records.
File a one-time notification (with a birth certificate) with the local district; annual testing was removed in 2021.
What South Dakota asks
| Notice | One-time notification form to the local school district. |
|---|---|
| Days and hours | South Dakota sets no number. HomeSchool Scribe plans against 180 days unless you change it. |
| Subjects | Language Arts, Math |
| Assessment | None required. |
| Records to keep | None required; keep your own. |
| Parent qualification | None. |
| Worth knowing | 180 days is a planning default only. |
Deadlines
These are the dates the app tracks for South Dakota. Districts vary; the app lets you edit any of them.
| What | When | To whom | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative Instruction Notification Notice · File online | Once, when you begin | South Dakota Department of Education or your resident school district | Filed once for each child, within 30 days from the first time that child begins alternative instruction (SDCL 13-27-7, department FAQ 1.2 and 1.5), and not again each year. This reminder counts 30 days from the start date of this school year; if the child actually began on another date, move the due date to match, and skip it for a child who was notified in an earlier year. A separate notification goes in for each student. The paper form asks for the child's name, date of birth, resident district, an open-enrolled district if a nonresident district already accepted one, how the copy should come back by email or mail, and a parent signature; no curriculum is part of it, and FAQ 1.3 says a birth certificate or affidavit is not required for the notification or to provide alternative instruction. Either the department or the resident district can receive it, and the online system notifies both at once, though it opens behind a South Dakota state login. The paper form goes to the SD Department of Education, 800 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501-2235, or to the school district's main office. A new notification goes in within 30 days if the child enrolls in a public or nonpublic school or moves to a different school district; the same form also covers correcting details, stopping alternative instruction, and moving out of state. For an 11th or 12th grader heading into the state's dual credit program, the department asks for the child's information to be updated in the notification system the semester before. HomeSchool Scribe prepares the details and opens the state's system; it does not file anything for you. |
| Nothing more to file: keep your own records Records · Keep in your files | By the end of the school year | Keep in your files | After the notification South Dakota asks for nothing else: no day or hour count, no subjects beyond the basic skills of language arts and mathematics, no parent certification, and no standardized testing since Senate Bill 177 took effect on July 1, 2021 (department FAQ 4.1). The department recommends a detailed academic record of student learning, including attendance and grades earned, and says a parent-issued transcript is what activities participation, a later public school placement, the state's dual credit program, postsecondary admission, and scholarship applications ask for (FAQ 2.1). Nothing here has a deadline. |
What HomeSchool Scribe does in South Dakota
- Alternative Instruction Notification: Prepares the notice letter; reminds you 14 days and 2 days before; opens the portal and keeps your confirmation.
- Nothing more to file: keep your own records: Prepares the attendance and hours report, the report card and the transcript; keeps it in records.
Attendance and hours fill in from the lessons you check off, so the documents above come from records you already have.
Read the law yourself
South Dakota Department of Education · HSLDA’s South Dakota summary · Alternative Instruction Notification portal
Not legal advicePlanning summaries in plain language, reviewed 2026-09-29. Deadlines and recipients vary by district; confirm with South Dakota’s current law or a homeschool legal organization before you file anything. If something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it for every family in South Dakota.